ON THIS DAY IN UNITED STATES HISTORY
April 17, 1961
The Bay of Pigs Invasion Begins
On this day in 1961, a CIA-trained force of Cuban exiles, landed in Cuba at an inlet of the Gulf of Cazones
called the Bay of Pigs. The name comes from a questionable translation of the Spanish name Bahia de Cochinos.
The purpose of the invasion was to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro which had taken control during
the Cuban Revolution in January, 1959. The invasion was a dismal failure and an embarrassment to the Kennedy
Administration.
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