Bay of Pigs Invasion - Adrian C.
In 1959, a revolution led by Fidel Castro attempted to overthrow Cuba, and it was successful. He became the Prime Minister, which caused a lot of people to flee the country and head for the United States. The U.S. was not fond of him, either because he was a strong supporter of Communism and an Ally with the Soviet Union. They. did not like this as it gave their enemy and Communism an area right next to the Americas, so they decided to take action. The United States CIA was told to form a plan to overthrow Castro, and the people who fled Cuba, referred to as exiles, were trained in Guerilla Warfare. They would attack at the Bay of Pigs and part of the plan relied on civilians from Cuba supporting the invasion.
The invasion took place on April 17, 1961 and it was an embarrassment for the United States. Airstrikes that were meant to destroy the Cuban Air Force did some damage, but not enough to keep many planes out of the sky. Ships took too long to unload troops and ammunition, which resulted in them sinking, and paratroopers landed in the wrong spots, causing them to be quickly surrounded. The reason for the quick failure was because Cuba already knew of the invasion. Too many people knew and eventually word got out, so they were able to prepare.
The Bay of Pigs invasion was a big deal, because The United States looked weak because of the failed attack and relations with Cuba and the Soviet Union strengthened. The CIA looked incompetent, because they were the ones who planned and supported the invasion that ended up being a total defeat. Also, Cuba looked to the Soviet Union for military support and their common goals allowed them to become closer as allies. This was especially bad for the United States, because if war ensued, two countries were ready to attack them, one of which was extremely close to America.