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Fidel Castro Came to Power in Cuba
The Bay of Pigs - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
Castro came to power in Cuba after a three year armed revolt against Cuban dictator, Fulgencio Batista.
Impact on the Cold War: If Castro never came to power, the Cuban Missile Crisis would have never happened and the U.S. wouldn't have its current issues with Cuba. -
JFK Briefed on Plan to Train Exiles
Bay of Pigs - Invasion
Before his inauguation, John F. Kennedy was briefed on a plan by the CIA to train Cuban exiles for an ivasion of their homeland.
Impact on the Cold War: The U.S. should have never gotten involved in the issue, nor should we have supported the cause. If the U.S. had remained neutral, Cuba and the U.S. may not have as much "bad blood" between them today. -
Castro Learns of the Camps
The Bay of Pigs - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
Though the United States government tried to keep the training camps secret, it was common knowledge to the Cuban exiles. Cuban intelligence in the U.S. was able to alert Castro as early as October of 1960, before the camps were ever established.
Impact on the Cold War: Castro knew of the plan and many lives were lost due to lack of confidentiality. -
CIA Establishes Training Camps
Bay of Pigs - Invasion
The CIA established training camps in Guatemala and had a small army by November of 1960 - even though Castro already knew of the camps, army, and plan of attack.
Impact on the Cold War: The U.S. involvement and support they gave to the exiles confirmed that the U.S. was against Castro and led to the immediate dislike of the country by any and all Cubans. -
Inauguration of JFK
Inauguration of JFK
John F. Kennedy was inaugurated and became our thirty-fifth president.
Impact on the Cold War: Kennedy was the leader of the U.S. during the Cold War and, without him, the U.S. may have been launched into a nuclear war. -
JFK Authorizes Invasion Plan
Bay of Pigs - Invasion
John F. Kennedy authorizes the invasion plan of Cuba.
Impact on the Cold War: Kennedy confirmed, to another degree, that the U.S. supported the exiles, which severely angered Cubans. -
The First Attack
The Bay of Pigs - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
Eight bombers left Nicaragua to bomb Cuban airfields, but failed. The bombers missed many of their targets and left most of Castro's airforce in tact.
Impact on the Cold War: Due to the failed attempt, Kennedy cancelled the second airstrike and saved many lives. -
Brigade 2506 Landed in Cuba
[The Bay of Pigs - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum](<a href='http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/The-Bay-of-Pigs.aspx)
The Brigade attacked the Bay and immediately came under heavy fire and lost most of their escort ships, air support, and ground force.
Impact on the Cold War: This gave Cuban's an edge because they had prisoners and were able to gain resources from the U.S. -
Start of the Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis had the U.S. on one side with Cuba and Russia on the other. America was in mass hysteria because they knew a nuclear war could break out at any point.
Impact on the Cold War: Russia and Cuba were both threatening the U.S. with nuclear war and U.S. suicide rates were at an all-time high. Though battle never happened, many lives were lost on all sides, I'm sure. -
End of the Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
President Kennedy had quarantined Cuba and had very specific demands that had to be met, or he threatened an all out war. By the hair on our chins, Cuba and Russia accepted our demands and crisis was averted.
Impact on the Cold War: The U.S. was finally able to go back to normal and not fear for their lives or war every second. -
First Prisoners Released
[The Bay of Pigs - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum](<a href='http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/The-Bay-of-Pigs.aspx)
After Brigade 2506 was crushed by the Cuban's, almost 1,200 members of the force were imprisoned. The prisoners were held by the Cuban government for twenty months before being relesed back to the United States.
Impact on the Cold War: The return of the prisoners marked the end of the tension between Cuba, Russia, and the U.S. -
The Orange Bowl Ceremony
[The Bay of Pigs - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum](<a href='<a href='http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/The-Bay-of-Pigs.aspx)'
President Kennedy met with the survivors of the Brigade 2506 in Miami at the Orange Bowl. The survivors gave the president the Brigade flag and he assured them that "this flag will be returned to this brigade in a free Havana."
Impact on the Cold War: Kennedy told the world he took responsiblity for the Bay of Pigs invasion. -
Video Explaining the Bay of Pigs
Bay of Pigs Video
This video describes the Bay of Pigs invasion, the events leading up to it, and all the aftermath.
