Defeating United States imperialism at Playa Giron by Ramona Wadi!
(2020-05-04 at 13:23:05 )

Defeating United States imperialism at Playa Giron by Ramona Wadi!

"We would done some very important things, but we had not proclaimed ourselves as being socialists, or openly proclaimed Marxist-Leninist doctrines. Girón accelerated the revolutionary process." Cuban leader Fidel Castros reflections about Playa Girón, discussed with Ignacio Ramonet during conversations which led to the publication of the revolutionary leaders autobiography, indicate the magnitude of defeat for United States imperialism at the Bay of Pigs invasion which lasted from April 17 until April 19, 1961. In less than 72 hours, the Cuban revolutionary forces had defeated the 1,500 Central Intelligence Agency-trained infiltrators.

The United States plan to invade Cuba and overthrow the revolutionary government and process originated in 1960 by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the Eisenhower Administration and inherited by the Kennedy administration. The aim was "to bring about the replacement of the Castro regime with one more devoted to the true interests of the Cuban people and more acceptable to the United States in such a manner as to avoid any appearance of United States intervention." To achieve this, the Central Intelligence Agency trained Cuban dissidents living in Miami for the purpose of carrying out an intervention in Cuba with the aim of overthrowing Fidel.

In the aftermath of the defeat, President J.F. Kennedy declared, "I have emphasised before that this was a struggle of Cuban patriots against a Cuban dictator. While we could not be expected to hide our sympathies, we made it repeatedly clear that the armed forces of this country would not intervene in any way."

President Kennedys next comments indicate the nature of United States intervention in Latin America. "But a nation of Cubas size is less a threat to our survival than it is a base for subverting the survival of other free nations throughout the hemisphere. It is not primarily our interest or our security but theirs which is now, today, in the greater peril. It is for their sake as well as our own that we must show our will."

The defeat which the United States suffered at the hands of the Cuban revolutionaries consolidated imperialist concerns that Cuba was capable of influencing a complete transformation of the region. Such words, although less eloquent, were expressed by Henry Kissinger upon Salvador Allendes electoral triumph and the socialist transformation which would take place without United States intervention.

Based upon earlier United States foreign policy aid, in November 1961 President Kennedy signed the Foreign Assistance Act which led to the creation of USAID, a program which finances subversion under the guise of aid, sustainability and development.

In Cuba, USAID works to "empower Cuban citizens to work together in an independent manner and reduce their dependence on the state." In other words, USAID exists to create pockets of dissent through which it may influence the abandonment of revolutionary principles. In recent years, USAIDs interference was largely publicised through the case of Alan Gross, a subcontractor involved in subversion activities in Cuba and released upon an agreement that saw the return of the remaining members of the Cuban Five to the island.

President Kennedys next step in February 1962 was to order the illegal blockade on Cuba. Meanwhile in Latin America, the United States adopted the USAIDs alleged targets of humanitarian principles and sustainability to finance the propping of dictatorships across Latin America and isolating Cuba in the process. In the region, the result was a terror network of killings, torture and forced disappearances. Despite economic difficulties, the Cuban Revolution prevailed, with the United States increasingly expressing a false premise that the revolution would come to its end with Fidels demise.

"Cuba for the heroes who fell at Giron to save the country from foreign domination; the United States for mercenaries and traitors who serve the foreigner against their country." Thus stated Fidel in the Second Declaration of Havana on February 4, 1962.

Cuban response to the invasion exhibited the unity of the revolution. Despite President Kennedys statements attempting to portray the Central Intelligence Agency-trained mercenaries as Cuban patriots, the United States had failed to stir a fragment of support among Cubans, which would have given imperialism the chance to work covertly through the people, as it did in other countries in the region such as Chile.

On the contrary, the United States fixation to eliminate Fidel resulted in over 600 bizarre plans, all thwarted, even as on the island, Cubans educated themselves within a system that practiced revolution and resilience.

On this years anniversary, Cuban President Miguel Diaz Canel described the historical events as a constant lesson in revolutionary mobilisation. Decades since the revolutionary triumph and having suffered the impact of United States interference and economic sanctions, the differences between United States aggression and Cuban internationalism have only become more pronounced.

The United States still relies on subversion to change the course of the Cuban Revolution, just as it did in 1961 - miscalculating the Cuban peoples loyalty. In Fidels words, "They may have believed their own lies and propaganda, and the most certainly underestimated the Cuban people and our Cuban revolutionaries."

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