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The Bay of Pigs Invasion

This paper will examine the invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs in April of 1961 and some of the sources. Included in this examination will be a discussion of the events leading up to the operation, the role of the U.S. military in the operation, and the effects of the operation and its failure upon all involved parties.

Situated ninety miles off the southern coast of Florida, Cuba has always had some sort of economic relationship with the United States. This relationship escalated at the beginning of the 20th Century, after the United States severed Cuba's colonial relationship with Spain in the Spanish American War. Throughout the Century, the United States dominated Cuba's economy and gained tremendous political influence on the island, virtually replacing Spain as Cuba's colonial master. Military intervention in Cuba was occasionally necessary in order to maintain American control. Until the end of 1958, President Fulgencio Batista was actively supported by the United States, through the activities of the Central Intelligence Agency, during the Castro Revolution (Paterson 127-28).

During the Revolution, Fidel Castro tapped into the resentment against the United States residing in the psyches of the Cuban peasants. This resentment was never completely understood by most of the American diplomats and intelligence analysts, who were never able to understand or accept Castro's popularity amongst the Cuban people (Paterson 128). Castro, however, understood that Cuba was vulnerable to U.S. force and feared intervention in the Revolution. Immediately upon taking power, therefore, he avoided anti-American statements and even travelled to the United States to address public assemblies; in front of the American Society of Newspaper Editors he promised a free press in Cuba, while telling the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that no American property would be seized (Beschloss 95).

By the Fall of 1959, Castro was secretly negoti...

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The Bay of Pigs Invasion. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 08:31, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1712799.html