-
Fidel Castro
In 1959, Fidel Castro came to power in an armed revolt that overthrew Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. -
CIA Trained Cuban Rebels
The CIA set up training camps in Guatemala, and by November the operation had trained a small army for an assault landing and guerilla warfare. -
Cuba finds out that CIA is training rebels
Through Cuban intelligence, Castro learned of the guerilla training camps in Guatemala as early as October 1960, and the press reported widely on events as they unfolded. -
JFK plans invasion
Shortly after his inauguration, in February 1961, President Kennedy authorized the invasion plan. -
Bay of Pigs
On 3 April 1961, a bomb attack on militia barracks in Bayamo killed four militia, and wounded eight more. -
The Invasion
The first mishap occurred on April 15, 1961, when eight bombers left Nicaragua to bomb Cuban airfields. -
Bay of Pigs
Falied invasion of Cuba by CIA trianed Cuban rebels in April, 1961- embarrassment to JFK administration. -
Cuban invades Bay of Pigs
On April 17, the Cuban-exile invasion force, known as Brigade 2506, landed at beaches along the Bay of Pigs and immediately came under heavy fire. -
JFK sends fighter planes to help
As the situation grew increasingly grim, President Kennedy authorized an "air-umbrella" at dawn on April 19—six unmarked American fighter planes took off to help defend the brigade's B-26 aircraft flying. -
Bay of Pigs
On 6 April, the Hershey Sugar factory in Matanzas was destroyed by sabotage. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
13 days in 1962 in which the U.S., Cuba, and the Soviet Union came to the brink of nuclear war over the installment of missile sites in Cuba by the Soviets- Ssoviets withdrew sites. -
Prisoners were freed
On December 23, 1962, just two months after the end of the Cuban Missile Crisis, a plane containing the first group of freed prisoners landed in the United States. -
JFK assassinated
President Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, Tex. (
