It is also thought that Batista was suggested that the CIA should assassinate Fidel Castro but Batista rejected the offer (Hugh Thomas, p.30). The then Director of CIA, after Castro took over stated verified that Castro was not inclined towards Communism and that any American intervention before the takeover or at present would serve to be "counterproductive" (CIA Memoranda for the Director, p.3). Later on in February 1959, the Director of CIA informed the then President of the United States, Eisenhower that Castro was introducing Communist ideas and that his government had started to function with Communists infiltrating all sectors of the Cuban government. While America withheld its policy of not intervening, it was observed that Latin Americans "tend to believe that the United States overemphasized Communism as a threat to the Western Hemisphere and consequently, they tend to take insufficient precautions against internal Communist subversion....This played into the hands of the Communists, who since the Guatemala experience, were camouflaging their revolutionary aims and identifying Communism with...national aspirations" (Stephen Rabe, p.99). Castro, after the overthrow of Batista aimed to replace American companies from the Cuban soil which was naturally against the American interests. The Central Intelligence Agency of the United States wanted to remove Castro and install a pro-American regime. The anti-Castro resistance was contacted by the CIA in their attempt to fund the invasion of Cuba and remove Castro keeping in mind that there would be no evidence or any appearance of a U.S. intervention. Thus the CIA and the Pentagon set to work to plan out an invasion blueprint which would give them victory against Cuba for the removal of Castro and the installation of a pro-American Government which would work without colliding with any American interests.
When one consults the map, it is seen that the Bay of Pigs is a narrow yet long body of water which has several beaches. Its entrance is gained from the south as other directions have treacherous swamplands. A sufficient piece of land that can serve the purpose of being an airstrip is present between the swampland and the eastern shore. This piece of land is perfect to set up a command headquarters. It was an area of little population, mostly charcoal makers and some fishermen and thus was perfect for a secret and invisible landing. "Our plan for the Bay of Pigs landing provided for an attack on three Cuban military airfields by 16 B-26 bombers"(Jack Hawkins, p.36). The plan which was made by the CIA was that once the Cuban Air Force would be destroyed, paratroopers would be dropped off with support from aerial bombings and assistance in the form of heavy artillery and tanks would enter the land from the beach and join the paratroopers. This, they assessed, would seal off the area completely. Subsequently the Cuban Revolutionary Council was to be flown in to be announced as being the provisional Cuban Government. Further the sequence of events would be proportional to the amount of counterrevolutionary activity supported. They analyzed that Castro's regime will eventually be overthrown.
One might wonder that when everything was clearly planned out and the plan of action was simple and concise, why Americans had to still face shame and the cause of their plans crumbling. The problem rested in the fact that although the site which CIA chose was the best available, Castro had all the reasons to expect an attack from that site. Therefore the element of surprise was one thing which lacked in their plans. Moreover an additional important point which the CIA failed to look into was that the charcoal makers of the area were loyal to the Castro regime and had benefited greatly from him. Further what CIA missed out was that there were approximately 200 alphabetizers living in that area who were yet again faithful to Castro. Before the invaders could actually land to put their plan in action, they were detected due to a lighthouse and some very bright lights placed at the beach. They also encountered severe resistance from the same charcoal workers which the CIA thought to be harmless. Moreover an infantry battalion was also placed recently in that area which added on to the resistance. There was a huge gap and error in the intelligence of the area and it proved to be anything but perfect for initiating the operation (Trumbull Higgins, p.139). The CIA's original plan included the destruction of Castro's air force which was an objective already thought about by Castro....
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