This list is a work in process (as is this whole web site), and does not claim to be the definitive list of participants in the Bay of Pigs invasion. If I left a name out that should be included, its only because I've not yet gotten around to it.
Opposed the invasion: “It seemed to me that this was a disastrous idea. We talked about it for a little bit and then I went off. I really dismissed it from my mind because it seemed like such a wild idea. While I was in Europe the Bay of Pigs came off and this really shattered the Europeans. They had tremendously high expectations of the new administration, and when this thing happened they just fell miles down with a crash.”
Brigade physician
Cuban revolutionary leader
In charge of Santa Clara and head of the Army of the center.
Charcoal Maker
Local Playa Larga resident. After being offered money to join the invaders, he refused. Of the 400 prisoners at that time, only six joined the invading Brigade 2506.
Head of the Revolutionary National
Police.
Cuban Militia
One of the first militia to be killed in the attack at Playa Larga. Also killed with him is 19-year-old Félix Edén Aguada.
“Political Chief” Brigade 2506
Escaped into the Zapata swamp with 21 invading soldiers and was not captured until 5/2/61. Years later he organized the Miami Watergate Defense Relief Fund for those accused of the break-in at Watergate.
Cuban militia
Along with his son (Jesús) and various friends, kept invaders from advancing towards the town of Pálpite in the early hours of the invasion.
Brigade 2506 pilot
One of four American pilots killed in the invasion. Eight American pilots flew combat missions without the approval of President Kennedy. Baker, the navigator in Pete Ray’s plane, survived the crash and was shot in a ground battle while holding a grenade.
Brigade 2506 Soldier
Survived Bay of Pigs. Arrested years later for the break-in at the Watergate building. Barker was in General Batista's secret police before the revolution and is said to have become an informer for the CIA in 1959.
CIA Operative
Basulto was sent to Cuba in advance of the invasion to commit sabotage, but was not given a specific assignment. He escaped arrest after the bombings by climbing the wall at the Guantanamo Naval Base. Basulto has had an extensive career as an anti-Castro activist, participating in over three decades of Cold War against Cuba.
In 1991 Basulto was one of the founders of Brothers To The Rescue (Hermanos al Rescate), a search and rescue operation out of Florida with a 1.5 million dollar yearly budget. It was Basulto’s plane that violated Cuban air space three times on February 24, 1996. Cuban MiGs followed and shot down the other two planes in Basulto’s company over international waters.
CIA Chief of Air Operations
In charge of air operations.
aka, Frank Bender
Chief, Political Affairs Officer
Worked with E. Howard Hunt keeping track of the various anti-Castro exile groups in the U.S. to ensure their support for the invasion. He approached anti-Castro leaders, using the name Frank Bender, claimed to represent a group of wealthy businessmen and offered massive financial assistance for operations against Cuba.
CIA, Deputy Director of Plans
Organized and ran the Bay of Pigs project. He is one of three high-level CIA officials later fired by Kennedy on 2/62. Replaced by Richard M. Helms.
Brigade 2506 Pilot
Forty years later: "We are not going to talk to Castro, period."
Under Secretary of State
Opposed the invasion.
National Security Advisor
Informed CIA’s General C.P. Cabell that “air strikes the following dawn should not be launched” until they can be conducted from a strip within the beachhead.”
Chief of Naval Operations
(until August 1961) Gave an OK to the plan.
Deputy Director, CIA
During the invasion, he was left in charge of the CIA. Fired by Kennedy on 1/31/62. In his posthumously published memoirs, General Cabell was harshly critical of Kennedy and his staff.
Brigade 2506
Bay of Pigs survivor. Forty years later he was expelled from the Brigade 2506 Veterans Association for participating in a Havana conference commemorating the conflict.
President of exile government
Would have been immediately recognized by U.S. officials as the legitimate government of Cuba. During the invasion, Cardona and others were held by CIA forces in Opa-Locka, Florida. The statement he delivered to the media on April 17 was actually written by CIA agent E. Howard Hunt.
Cuban pilot
Destroyed two invasion vessels before they could be unloaded. This was a key factor in the Cuban victory.
Prime Minister of Cuba
The armed forces under Castro responded with vigor and enthusiasm, defeating the invaders in less than 72 hours.
Fidel's Brother
In charge of securing Oriente Province.
Head, Battalion 339
At the very beginning, he sent a platoon to Playa Larga.
CIA station chief, Guatemala
In charge of building the airport at Retalhuleu that was used by Brigade 2506.
Cuban pilot
Spotted U.S. destroyers.
Director, CIA
Managed top level planning and execution. Accused of misleading Kennedy. He was fired by Kennedy on November 29, 1961, and replaced by John Alex McCone.
Richard J. Walton, from Cold War and Counterrevolution: The Foreign Policy of John F. Kennedy: “In conferences with the President and other planners at the White House, [Dulles] gave the impression that a wide uprising could be expected, he had never asked his own people in the CIA to investigate that point further, and, as we see, the Sate Department was not asked either.”
AW Dulles also served as president of United Fruit (later United Brands and Chiquita Brands).
U.S. Secretary of State
Brother to AW Dulles. JF Dulles was also a stockholder and a long-time legal advisor to United Fruit Co.
Brigade 2506 soldier
Served time in a Cuban jail after the invasion. After returning to the U.S. he organized the Bay of Pigs Veterans Association in Miami. "We were there as Cuban patriots," he told CNN in April, 2001, "trying to defend our land from what we believe was an evil that was coming to it. We were looking towards the future of Cuba and to the best interests of the Cuban people and the republic."
CIA Chief, Strikes and Plans Unit
Member of the Cuba Task Force. Died on December 11, 1999 in Ventura, California, at age 76.
U.S. President (until 1/61)
Approved initial planning and budget.
CIA Chief of Branch 4
Member of the Cuba Task Force. Also served as Guatemala station chief between 1954-57. Died of a heart attack in October 1999. From an interview with author Don Bohning on June 10, 1995: "…if we had been ale to learn several months earlier there were going to be these restrictions put on us, we would have gotten out in a gentlemanly manner and said 'we think you better use somebody else. We don't think that we're going to be able to do what you want.' But unfortunately we didn't have that luxury of time. We didn't discover the problems, the limitations we were going to have until it was too late to quit. You just can't walk away and leave the ship to sink."
Cuban commander
Took Playa Larga from the invading army.
President of Guatemala
Cooperated with CIA efforts to overthrow Castro. Provided land used for training Brigade 2506 (a ranch owned by his brother).
Chairman of Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Opposed the invasion: “To give this activity even covert support is of a piece with the hypocrisy and cynicism for which the United States is constantly denouncing the Soviet Union in the United Nations and elsewhere. This point will not be lost on the rest of the world—nor on our own consciences… The Castro regime is a thorn in the flesh; but it is not a dagger in the heart.”
Cuban Militia
Killed on the road advancing from Pálpite to Playa Larga. A day later his wife gave birth to a little girl.
Cuban revolutionary leader
Head of the tactical center of Managua, city of Havana.
Brigade 2506 pilot
Killed in a plane crash with Mata Gonzalez Romero, after a bombing run over Cuba, when their B-26 crashed on the way back to their home base in Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua.
Brigade 2506 Soldier
Survived Bay of Pigs. Arrested years later for the break-in at the Watergate building.
Brigade 2506
Assistant to Oliva. Ex Batista police. Executed a wounded prisoner (shot him in the head with a pistol) so they would not have to carry him.
Militia Commander, Battalion 339
One of five men stationed in Playa Larga when the invasion began. He was the first to report the invasion.
Brigade 2506 pilot
One of eight American pilots that flew combat missions (four were killed in combat). The pilots, recruited in secrecy by the CIA to “train” Cuban pilots for the invasion, came form the Alabama Air National Guard, due to the fact that they also used the outdated B-26 planes used by the Cuban Air Force.
White House advisor
[No relation to Billy Goodwin] Opposed the invasion.
Brigade 2506 pilot
One of four American pilots killed in the invasion. Eight American pilots flew combat missions without the approval of President Kennedy.
JCS, Chief of the Joint Subsidiary Activities Division
Examined the "Trinidad Plan" and concluded that the invading Brigade "could last for up to four days, given complete surprise and air supremacy, but success depends on uprisings in Cuba."
Chief Paramilitary, Cuba Task Force
Less than a week before the invasion, Hawkins sent Kennedy a telegram: "My observations the last few days have increased my confidence in the ability of this force to accomplish not only initial combat missions but also the ultimate objective of Castro's overthrow." From: American Spy, by E. Howard Hunt, "He professed to want to 'lead the boys ashore' himself, saying that the next president of Cuba would be decided b military, not political, action. Our disaffection was instantly mutual."
CIA Chief of Operations (Plans)
Teacher
She was in charge of the literacy teachers at Playa Girón. Held prisoner by Brigade 2506 soldiers.
Propaganda Officer
Maintained contact with the various anti-Castro groups in the U.S. and coordinated their actions (as much as was possible). Hunt discusses his involvement in this and other CIA operations in his book Give Us This Day.
From his book American Spy: "I filed a report that included four recommendations for the invasion. First and foremost, all efforts should be made to assassinate Castro before or coincident with the invasion. This would be a task for a Cuban patriot."
U.S. Vice President
Revolutionary Council
Issued statements to the press from the Revolutionary Council (in the U.S.).
U.S. President
Approved the operation and assumed responsibility for its failure. Began to shake up the CIA within a year of the invasion. Assassinated in 1963. "There's an old saying," he said, "that victory has a hundred fathers and defeat is an orphan." Kennedy began to shake up the CIA within a year of the invasion. He was assassinated in 1963.
U.S. Attorney General
Encouraged and supported a variety of covert operations against Castro, including a Mafia hit, etc. Assassinated in 1967.
Inspector General, CIA
Conducted an internal investigation after the invasion and wrote analysis of the operation after the fact. His report angered CIA Director Dulles, and was classified until February 1998.
Member, Special Group
At a meeting of the Special Group (12/8/60) expressed doubts that the Cuban people would rise up against Castro.
Chairman, JCS
Okayed the plan.
CIA operative
Fired the first shot of the invasion. A veteran of the Normandy invasion, the Battle of the Bulge, and Heartbreak Ridge (in Korea) Lynch is said to have shot down two Cuban warplanes. According to Peter Wyden (author of Bay of Pigs) Lynch “became the closest thing to an on-the-spot military commander that the Cuban operation ever had.
Lynch reveals his contribution to the invasion in his book Decision for Disaster: Betrayal at Bay of Pigs. He blames the failure of the invasion on Kennedy. After the Bay of Pigs, Lynch became involved in “Operation Mongoose,” and directed 2,126 clandestine CIA assaults on Cuba, directly participating in 113 of them. He is said to be working on another book titled: The CIA’s Secret War on Cuba.
Assistant secretary for Inter-American Affairs
On 2/15/61 he wrote a memo to Dean Rusk opposing the invasion.
Brigade 2506 Soldier
Survived Bay of Pigs. Arrested years later for the break-in at the Watergate building.
Cuban Army
U.S. Secretary of Defense
Expressed skepticism about the CIA plan after a meeting on 1/28/61.
Captain of the freighter Houston
The freighter Houston was hit by rockets (fired by Captain Enrique Carreras) and was run aground near Red Beach. The troops were slow to leave the ship and most never joined the battle. Morse went on to become a successful Republican politician in Miami.
Head of Militia
The first to spot light at sea at Playa Girón.
Brigade 2506 Pilot
Flew a C-46 into the airfield at Playa Girón to deliver 8,500 pounds of ammunition and picked up a wounded pilot (Matías Farías).
Vice-President (until 1/61)
Supported the plan vigorously. Elected U.S. president in 1968 and 1972. Forced to resign as a result of the Watergate Scandal. Pardoned by President Gerald Ford. Still remembered as “tricky dick.”
Deputy Commander, Brigade 2506
After the invasion, he became the highest ranking Cuban in the U.S. Army Reserve as a major general and deputy commander of the National Guard in Washington D.C.
Radio-telegraph operator
On duty when the message from José Ramón came in: “A boat is landing and shooting at the beach. They’re right on top of us. We’re going to destroy this radio and head for the trench.” He passed the message to Captain Cordero.
CIA
Assistant to CIA director Allen Dulles during the planning of BOP invasion. Asserted that the White House did not receive their share of the blame for the negative outcome.
Brigade 2506
One of two Brigade 2506 members who served time for the fatal bombing of exiled Socialist leader Orlando Letelier in Washington, September 1976.
American pilot, Brigade 2506.
Brigade 2506 soldier
Survived sixteen days at sea with other Brigade 2506 soldiers by resorting to cannibalism. “It was crazy,” he recalled in a Fox network special in 1998, we were desperate, people were dying one after the other…” Pestonit broke his vow of secrecy because of his anger toward the Kennedy administration.
Chief Propaganda, Cuba Task Force
Veteran of the agency’s 1954 coup against Guatemalan president Jacobo Arbenz. Operated Radio Swan, a CIA-funded anti-Castro radio station and various other stations. He developed concepts and “news alerts,” including what led to the Operation Pedro Pan exodus, and everything broadcast during the invasion, such as fake reports that “Castro’s troops are surrendering…” and “It is reported that Raul Castro has committed suicide.” His book is called The Night Watch.
Brigade 2506 pilot
One of four American pilots killed in the invasion. Ray’s body was embalmed, placed in a glass coffin and stored in a freezer. This was the only real proof of U.S. participation, but the U.N. never pursued an investigation, in spite of requests by Cuba’s Raul Roa. Eighteen years later, in December 1979, the body was identified after Cuban officials sent copies of the fingerprints to the FBI, and returned to the U.S. family, which had been kept in the dark by CIA and State Department officials. As part of the “cover story,” the family was told that Ray had died in a cargo plane crash.
Cuban Minister of External Relations
Alerted the United Nations that a U.S. attack of Cuba was about to get under way.
CIA Operative
One of two CIA agents assigned to Brigade 2506 as “troubleshooters.” (The other is Grayston Lynch.) Robertson died in 1973 of malaria in Laos.
CIA Operative
According to his testimony (May, 1987) at the Iran-Contra Congressional hearings, he infiltrated Cuba in February 1961, two months before the invasion with Rafael "Chi Chi" Quintero. Most of the infiltration team is killed or captured. After the invasion Rodríguez hides in the Venezuelan Embassy for five months. Like many other Bay of Pigs veterans, he joins the U.S. Army in 1963.
Brigade 2506 is named after him
The first casualty of the exile force. He died in a training accident in Guatemala by falling from a 2,000-foot cliff.
U.S. Secretary of State
He opposed the expedition, but didn’t speak up against it until after the fact.
Commander, Brigade 2506
Brigade 2506
Transmits the final message from Brigade 2506: “we have nothing left to fight with.”
Advisor to Kennedy (low ranking)
Wrote memos to Kennedy opposing the invasion, most notably on February 11, 1961, in which he asks whether it's possible to "induce Castro to take offensive action first?" Authored a number of books, including "1,000 Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House." Schlesinger died on February 28, 2007. He was 89 years old.
Brigade 2506 pilot
American pilot killed in battle. Eight American pilots (two per plane) flew combat missions without the approval of President Kennedy. Four died.
Brigade 2506 pilot
American pilot. Flew missions without Kennedy’s knowledge. Survived an air battle with a Cuban–piloted T-33. “We had lived with the Cubans for three months,” he recalls, “and we were so close to them that their cause became our cause.”
Commandant General
U.S. Marine Corps
Cuban volunteer teacher
While being held prisoner by Brigade 2506 soldiers: “Let’s write our names and where we’re from, so we can be identified if they kill us.”
Nicaraguan President
Gave a speech to Brigade 2506 members as they were embarking on their invasion, and asked them to “bring me some hairs from Castro’s beard.”
Assistant to Brigade physician
Special Counsel to President Kennedy
Did not know about the operation until it was over. The author of several books, including Kennedy. From page 295: “But in the days that followed the fiasco the President talked to me about it at length—in the Mansion, in his office and as we walked on the White House Lawn. He was aghast at his own stupidity, angry at having been badly advised by some and let down by others…
"But the CIA authors of the landing plan not only presented it to the new President but, as was perhaps natural, advocated it. He was in effect asked whether he was as willing as the republicans to permit and assist these exiles to free their own island from dictatorship…”
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.
At the United Nations, he flatly denied any U.S. involvement in the invasion. (A few hours later he learned that Kennedy referred to him as “my official liar.”)
One of two Brigade 2506 members who served time for the fatal bombing of exiled Socialist leader Orlando Letelier in Washington, September 1976.
Brigade 2506
Head of Battalion 2. Wiped out Castro’s Battalion 339 at Playa Larga.
CIA
Investigated the invasion for Kennedy immediately after the fact. Submitted a report to the president on June 13, 1961. Cited failure to destroy Castro’s air forces “due to the restraints placed on the anti-Castro air force” as key factor in the failure (in essence putting the blame on Kennedy).
Cuban revolutionary leader
Responsible for Intelligence and Counterintelligence.
Militia Leader, Battalion 180
About the fight at Playa Larga: “I have often thought of the heroism displayed by the fighters… they made the mercenaries at Playa Larga lose all hope of winning the war.”
Brigade 2506 pilot
Was presented to the world press as a “defector” and photographed next to his plane.
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