The Bay of Pigs Invasion Essay

Document Type:Thesis

Subject Area:History

Document 1

America got involved in the invasion both directly and indirectly to oust Fidel from power. To begin with, they used CIA to train some of the Cuban exiles who were to wage an attack in Cuba, through guerilla and air assaults. They set up several training camps in different sections of Cuba, where the Castro government would not easily realize. However, though the USA was concealing its secret, Fidel was aware of the planned invasion and had already prepared for it. Furthermore, during this time, Castro had a healthy relationship with the Soviet Union, and therefore he did not worry concerning the Invasion. Batista was a friend to the American government because he did nothing to restrict the economic activities of Americans in Cuba.

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Therefore, when Castro came to power, Americans were a little bit anxious that their operations would be disrupted if at he would not support them. Furthermore, Fidel Castro held a healthy relationship with the leader of communism and therefore, there was the likelihood that Castro would take a communist stance. Just like America was anxious about, when Castro came into power, he felt that it was time that Cuba would act with less control from outside. Fidel Castro, therefore, nationalized all the sugar plantations that were initially owned by the Americans. Their mission was to train a group of Cuban exiles who would later be used to invade the government. Regarding that, America secretly established training camps in several parts of Cuba including Guatemala (Martell, 2017).

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Towards the end of 1960, CIA had already managed to train a small army for guerilla warfare and assault landing. In addition to that, CIA managed to prepare the small army on aircraft tactics and therefore, they were ready and skilled to invade the Cuban government. It is therefore clear that, through the training of the Cuban exiles by CIA, America got involved in the Bay of Pigs invasion though indirectly. American news commentator Michael Fitzmaurice in NEWS OF THE DAY newsreel explained the ransom demands of Fidel Castro after the failed invasion of Cuba, Castro demanded 500 tractors in return the 1200 rebel prisoners captured (Stodden, 2016). America was forced to comply with the invasion was a colossal failure and an international embarrassment, and they tried to deny all involvement in the attempted coup.

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The Bay of Pigs is an example of American imperialism endeavoring to expand their influence and crush Communism; however, this attempt failed resulting in one of America’s most significant military catastrophes in modern history, until the disaster of the Vietnam War only a few years after. The liberal-leaning New York Times, an American newspaper, presented the Bay of Pigs from a neutral perspective; there is no mention of America’s involvement because at the time Kennedy denied any involvement. The article is written factually with little bias, thus showing the lack of knowledge the American press had about the CIA involvement in the aftermath of the invasion. The reason why America involved itself in the invasion indirectly is that, if they did it directly, USSR would also cheap in support of Castro.

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However, regarding economic interests, there is a proportion of people who held that it was wrong for America to retaliate the economic restrictions that came along with Castro’s regime by taking part in the Invasion. Instead, America ought to revenge by putting the same kind of mechanism; otherwise, America would look greedy on the eyes of the rest of the world. Moreover, more than 44 % of Americans did not support a direct involvement of America in the war by offering support regarding materials and direct participation of the American Army. This would make the imperialist nature of America come out openly to the world. USSR accepted the request, and in fact, the Soviet Union planted a nuclear bomb in Cuba which led to what is known as the missile crises in Cuba.

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