The Bahia de los Cochinos, known as the Bay of Pigs Invasion, begins in 1959 when Fidel Castro made several attempts to overthrow the Cuban dictator, Fulgencio Batista y Zaldivar, and made himself into power. During the next two years, Castro became increasingly unfriendly to the United States. The new government agrarians reform law's adversely affected United States companies that operated sugar plantations. Fidel Castro did not allow U.S. companies that Cuban stockholders did not control to operate plantations, and sugar production was de-emphasized in favor of food crops. In 1960 the Castro government took over properties, which were worth more than one billion dollars, that was owned by U.S. companies and citizens. In reaction, Eisenhower's administration demanded a trade embargo against Cuba.

When Castro began to announce his belief in communism, Cuba became one of the nation's participants of the Cold War. The Cold War was a war fought between the United States, allies and nations led by the USSR. It involved intense economic and diplomatic battles but not direct military confrontation.

Many Cubans fled to the United States, during Eisenhower's administration. The Central Intelligence Agency had begun to train Cuban exiles secretly for an invasion of Cuba. When John Fitzgerald Kennedy became President, the Paramilitary Staff had conducted a long study and concluded that Trinidad would be the only good place to successfully land. Trinidad is near the middle of the southern coast of Cuba and the anti-Castro guerrillas were already operating near the Escambrovy mountains, The reason the Paramilitary picked Trinidad is because that it was near Cuba, it was safe, and it had a population of 18,000 people so it offered the possibility of recruiting additional volunteers to help for this mission.

The Paramilitary Staff had completed a plan for the Trinidad operation and presented it to the President and his advisors. Mr. Rusk, a advisor of the President, strongly opposed the plan because he said that it was more like a invasion and it gave the United States a easy win. Mr. Rusk thought that the Soviet Union might be stirred up to the extent that the Soviet Union might take action against the United States by attacking one of the bases in the other countries.

The Paramilitary Staff then had to study the entire cost of Cuba to find an area that would satisfy the president's requirements They found the only place that could hold the forces for a minimal time and it was called the Bahia de Cochinos (Bay of Pigs). President Kennedy later approved the invasion against Cuba.

In April 1961 more than a thousand Cuban exiles made landings in Cuba at the Bay of Pigs. Their mission was to move inland and join with anti-Castro forces to stage a revolt simultaneously, but Castro's forces were ready to meet them. The Central Intelligence Agency promised to come to their rescue, though they never came. Castro's forces killed the exiles and the survivors as a result were taken prisoners.

May 1961, the Kennedy administration unofficially backed attempts to ransom the prisoners. Unfortunately the efforts of the tractors for Freedom Committee headed by Eleanor Roosevelt, failed to raise 2.8 million dollars need for heavy-construction equipment demanded by Castro. In conclusion Castro agreed to release the prisoners in exchange for 5.3 million dollars of food and medical supplies. After the 5.3 million dollars were given, the United States and its allies still have an embargo against the Cuba and other communist countries.