Playa Giron - Site of the Bay of Pigs Invasion
On our cruise to Cuba, with Viking Cruise Lines, we spent three days docked in Cienfuegos. One of the tours available there is titled “The Cold War.” It is a trip to Playa Girón, where the Bay of Pigs invasion took place. This is a fascinating trip for those who are interested in history and who are willing to look events through the eyes of another country, especially one with whose politics they might disagree. In 1952, the government of the United States backed a coup in Cuba. General Batista overthrew to elected government of President Carlo Piro. This move, backed by the United Fruit Company and ALCOA, the two major U.S. companies present in Cuba at the time brought about a terrible dictatorship, one that was brutal to most of the people who lived in the country. In response to Bautista’s fascism, The Movimiento de 26 de Julio (The July 26 th Movement) rose and took up arms. Led by Fidel Castro, this movement successfully expelled Batista and his dictatorship on ...