Brigade 2506 | |
---|---|
Active | May 1960 – December 1962 |
Country | Cuba |
Type | State-sponsored paramilitary organization |
Role | Guerrilla warfare |
Size | 1,511 |
Garrison/HQ | JMTrax, Guatemala |
Motto(s) | Overthrow Fidel Castro |
Engagements | |
Insignia | |
Brigade flag |
Brigade 2506 (Brigada Asalto 2506) was a CIA-sponsored group of Cuban exiles formed in 1960 to attempt the military overthrow of the Cuban government headed by Fidel Castro. It carried out the abortive Bay of Pigs Invasion landings in Cuba on 17 April 1961.
In November 1960, with Gregorio Aguilar Matteo spearheading training with 430 men, the leaders were chosen and the group was named Brigade 2506, using the membership number of Carlos (Carlyle) Rafael Santana Estevez, who had died in a training accident in September 1960; it was also known as the Blindado Battalion among members. [1] [2] The principal commanders were appointed as follows: [3] [4]
About 1,334 men traveled on a seaborne force from Guatemala, of which about 1,297 actually landed in Cuba, plus an additional 177 airborne paratroops. An estimated 114 drowned or were killed in action, and 1,183 were captured, tried and imprisoned. Private sympathizers in the United States eventually negotiated to give $53 million worth of food and medicine in exchange for release and repatriation of Brigade prisoners to Miami starting on 23 December 1962. On 29 December 1962, President John F. Kennedy hosted a 'welcome back' ceremony for captured Brigade 2506 veterans at the Orange Bowl in Miami. Some of its members have gone on to found the Brigade 2506 Veterans' Association, which own the Bay of Pigs Museum & Library in Miami. [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
The Bay of Pigs Invasion was a failed military landing operation on the southwestern coast of Cuba in 1961 by the United States of America and the Cuban Democratic Revolutionary Front (DRF), consisting of Cuban exiles who opposed Fidel Castro's Cuban Revolution, clandestinely financed and directed by the U.S. government. The operation took place at the height of the Cold War, and its failure influenced relations between Cuba, the United States, and the Soviet Union.
Manuel Francisco Artime Buesa, M.D. was a Cuban-American who at one time was a member of the rebel army of Fidel Castro but later was the political leader of Brigade 2506 land forces in the abortive Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in April 1961.
The Mexican Army is the combined land and air branch and is the largest part of the Mexican Armed Forces; it is also known as the National Defense Army.
Rafael del Pino is a former Cuban General of the Air Force and political dissident who defected to the United States by flying a civilian airplane from Cuba to Key West, Florida.
The Bolivarian Army of Venezuela, is the land arm of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela. Also known as Bolivarian Army, its role is to be responsible for land-based operations against external or internal threats that may put the sovereignty of the nation at risk. The army is the second largest military branch of Venezuela after the Bolivarian Militia.
José Ramón Fernández Álvarez was a Cuban Communist leader who was a vice-president of the Council of Ministers.
Erneido Andres Oliva Gonzalez was a Cuban-American who was the deputy commander of Brigade 2506 land forces in the abortive Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba in April 1961.
The Bay of Pigs Museum, also known as the Brigade 2506 Museum and Library, is the official museum in memory of the Bay of Pigs Invasion's Brigade 2506 in Little Havana, Miami, Florida.
José Alfredo Pérez San Román, better known as Pepe San Román, was a Cuban military officer and the commander of Brigade 2506 ground troops in the Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba in April 1961.
Ricardo Miguel Montero Duque is a Cuban exile who was a military battalion commander in the invading forces of Brigade 2506 during the Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba in April 1961.
Gerard "Gerry" Droller was a German CIA officer involved in the covert 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état and the recruitment of Cuban exiles in the preparation of the Bay of Pigs Invasion in April 1961.
Jack L. Hawkins was a United States Marines Corps colonel employed by the CIA for the military planning, training of Cuban exiles, and the effective military command of forces in the Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba in April 1961. Hawkins was known by the alias John Haskins.
Alfredo Joaquin González Durán is a Cuban-born lawyer and an advocate for dialogue as a way to bring regime change in Cuba. His views are considered controversial in some parts of the Cuban exile community in Miami.
Mixed brigade was a basic tactical military unit of the Republican army during the Spanish Civil War. It was initially designed as "pocket division", an innovative maneuverable combined-arms formation. Because of high saturation with specialized troops and services it would have resembled a division, but in terms of manpower it would have been much smaller and amount to some 3,700 men.
Humberto J. Cortina was an American politician in the state of Florida. He served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1982 to 1984 for the 113th district.
The 66th Mixed Brigade was a unit of the Popular Army of the Republic that participated in the Spanish Civil War. Born in the context of the Battle of Madrid, took part in the Battle of Jarama and the fronts of Guadalajara and Extremadura.(Spanish: 42.ª División) was a division of the Spanish Republican Army in the Spanish Civil War. This unit was involved in the Battle of Jarama —part of the Battle of Madrid, as well as in the Battle of Peñarroya, suffering grievous losses in both battles.
The 88th Mixed Brigade was a unit of the Spanish Republican Army created during the Spanish Civil War. During most of the war it was deployed on the Córdoba and Extremadura fronts.
The 138th Mixed Brigade was a unit of the Spanish Republican Army that took part in the Spanish Civil War.
Kennedy's betrayal refers to a perspective on the Bay of Pigs Invasion that supposes that President Kennedy's refusal to give proper air support to Brigade 2506 caused the defeat of the invasion. This lack of air support later spurred a sense that John F. Kennedy had betrayed Brigade 2506. According to some, this caused Cuban exiles to view him as soft on communism. This soft reputation also supposedly pushed early Cuban exiles to vote Republican in contrast to Kennedy's own Democratic party, creating a long tradition of popular support for the Republican party among Cuban Americans. The supposed immediate distaste for Kennedy among early Cuban exiles has also inspired conspiracy theories that Cuban exiles were involved in Kennedy's assassination.
Eulalio Francisco Castro Paz was a Cuban-American freedom fighter, anticommunist revolutionary, gang leader, arms dealer, terrorist group leader, intelligence operative, undercover agent, drug and narcotics smuggler, decades-long jewelry store owner, and pillar of the Little Havana community who has a street named after him in Miami.