2.2a: The Bay of Pigs Invasion

What were 4 causes of the Bay of Pigs Invasion?

Cuban Revolution, Nationalisation, Communism, American response

What happened in January 1959?

Castro overthrew Batista and took control of Cuba

Who was Castro?

A nationalist who did not want his country’s economy to be under American control

What did the Cuban government do in May 1959 and how did the US react?

Took over all the land in Cuba owned by foreign nationals, the US government refused to recognise the scheme but Castro took the land anyway

Who did Castro begin appointing to his government?

Communists

What did Castro do in February 1960?

He made an agreement with the USSR

What was Castro’s agreement with the USSR?

Khrushchev agreed to buy Cuban sugar and provide economic aid, there was also a secret clause saying Cuba would receive arms from the USSR

What did Eisenhower do in October 1960?

Banned all trade with Cuba

What did the USA do in January 1961?

Broke off diplomatic relations with Cuba

What did Kennedy approve when he became president?

A CIA plan to train Cuban exiles to launch an invasion and overthrow Castro

When was the Bay of Pigs invasion?

17th of April 1961

How many Cuban exiles were there?

1400

Why did the Bay of Pigs invasion fail?

1. Cuban exiles had little military experience

2. US could not use American soldiers or air attacks to support the attack as they wanted the invasion to look like a Cuban effort

3. Castro’s government found out about the invasion plans, so there were 20,000 Cuban soldiers waiting to fight the exiles

4. USA wrongly thought most Cubans would support the invasion but many were happy with Castro

Why did the USA take action against Castro’s reforms?

In an attempt to pressure Cuba into ending their relationship with the USSR and accept American influence again

Why did the CIA use Cuban exiles instead of American soldiers?

Made it look like Cuban people were rising up against Castro making communism look unpopular, USA could claim they weren’t involved

What were 3 consequences of the Bay of Pigs invasion?

American humiliation, communism looked better, stronger relations between Cuba and USSR

Why did the Bay of Pigs invasion cause American humiliation?

It was a humiliating failure, made them appear hypocritical: had accused USSR of trying to spread influence, now doing exact same thing

Why did the Bay of Pigs invasion cause communism to look better?

The people of Cuba were happy under the leadership of pro-communist Castro and had shown little support for the Cuban exiles

Why did the Bay of Pigs invasion lead to stronger relations between Cuba and the USSR?

Castro declared himself a communist and asked Khrushchev to help him defend Cuba against a future attack from the USA

What did Khrushchev publicly announce in September 1961?

That he would provide arms to Cuba