How Did The Bay Of Pigs Get Its Name ?
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The name Bay of Pigs is a literal translation of the Spanish nameBahía de Cochinos which is an inlet ofGulf of Cazones at the southern coastal region of Cuba. During the year 1910, this inlet belonged to the Santa Clara Province and then in 1961, it was assigned to Las Villas Province. It was later reassigned to Matanzas Province in 1976 wherein the 6 provinces of Cuba that existed then were reorganized into 14 new provinces.
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This bay is situated at a distance of about 30 KM to the south of Jagüey Grande. It is located at a distance of 70 km west of the Cienfuegos city and 150 km to the southeast of Havana, the capital city. Coral reefs at western side of this bay border the Zapata Swamp that belongs to the Zapata peninsula.
Beaches are situated on the eastern side. Mangroves and swamp lands border the northern and eastern regions. Buena Ventura is a village situated at the northern end of the bay and is located adjacent to the Playa Larga, which literally translates to ‘Long Beach’.
About 35 km to the southeast, you can locate Giron beach or Playa Girón at the Girón village. This village is named after Gilberto Giron, a French pirate known for his notoriety. Armed Cuban exiles used Playa Larga and Playa Girón as the seaborne sites for Bay of Pigs invasion, an American CIA sponsored attack carried out in the year 1961. This invasion was executed to overthrow the governance of Fidel Castro, the then Cuban Prime Minister.
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The Bay of Pigs Invasion was an American CIA-sponsored military attack by training Cuban exiles in order to overthrow Fidel Castro, the Cuban dictator in order to put an end to his communist regime. This invasion occurred under the administration of John F. Kennedy but was planned during the time of Dwight D. Eisenhower. This was a tricky situation for the US as it was not at war with Cuba then.