The failed invasion of Cuba by CIA-backed Cuban refugees, known as the Bay of Pigs, took place on this date.
The failed invasion of Cuba by CIA-backed Cuban refugees, known as the Bay of Pigs, took place on April 17, 1961. The CIA-backed Bay of Pigs invasion was an attempt to overthrow the revolutionary government of Fidel Castro, which had come to power in 1959. The invasion, which was crushed within hours, was a disaster for the nearly 1,500 Cuban refugees who landed in the Bay of Pigs and attempted to fight their way inland without any of the promised air support from the United States. The operation, which had been devised during the Eisenhower Administration, was nonetheless endorsed by the new president, John F. Kennedy.
