Brigade 2506
Encyclopedia
Brigade 2506 was the name given to a CIA-sponsored group of Cuban exile
s formed in 1960 to attempt the military overthrow of the Cuban government headed by Fidel Castro
. It carried out the abortive Bay of Pigs Invasion
landings in Cuba
on 17 April 1961.
See Main article: Bay of Pigs Invasion
in the Sierra Madre
on the Pacific coast of Guatemala
.
In November 1960, with 430 men in training, the leaders of the brigade were chosen, and the group was named Brigade 2506, using the membership number of Carlos (Carlyle) Rafael Santana Estevez, who had died in a training accident in September 1960. The principal commanders were appointed as follows :-
About 2,680 names are known for members of the brigade. About 1,334 men travelled on the seaborne force, of which about 1,297 actually landed in Cuba, plus an additional 177 airborne paratroops. An estimated 114 drowned or were killed in action, and 1,183 were captured, tried and imprisoned. Private sympathizers in the United States eventually negotiated to give $53 million worth of food and drugs in exchange for release and repatriation of Brigade prisoners to Miami starting on 23 December 1962. On 29 December 1962, President John F. Kennedy
hosted a 'welcome back' ceremony for captured Brigade 2506 veterans at the Orange Bowl in Miami. Some of its members have gone on to found the Brigade 2506 Veteran's Association which controls the Bay of Pigs Museum & Library in Miami.
Among the brigade members were:
Cuban exile
The term "Cuban exile" refers to the many Cubans who have sought alternative political or economic conditions outside the island, dating back to the Ten Years' War and the struggle for Cuban independence during the 19th century...
s formed in 1960 to attempt the military overthrow of the Cuban government headed by Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
. It carried out the abortive Bay of Pigs Invasion
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs Invasion was an unsuccessful action by a CIA-trained force of Cuban exiles to invade southern Cuba, with support and encouragement from the US government, in an attempt to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro. The invasion was launched in April 1961, less than three months...
landings in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
on 17 April 1961.
See Main article: Bay of Pigs Invasion
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs Invasion was an unsuccessful action by a CIA-trained force of Cuban exiles to invade southern Cuba, with support and encouragement from the US government, in an attempt to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro. The invasion was launched in April 1961, less than three months...
History
In May 1960, the CIA began to recruit anti-Castro Cuban exiles in the Miami area. For most recruits, infantry training was carried out at a CIA-run base code-named JMTrax near RetalhuleuRetalhuleu
The city of Retalhuleu is in south-western Guatemala. It is the departmental seat of Retalhuleu department as well as the municipal seat of Retalhuleu municipality....
in the Sierra Madre
Sierra Madre de Chiapas
Sierra Madre is a mountain range which runs northwest-southeast from the state of Chiapas in Mexico across Guatemala and into El Salvador and Honduras. Most of the volcanoes of Guatemala are a part of this range.A narrow coastal plain lies south the range, between the Sierra Madre and the Pacific...
on the Pacific coast of Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
.
In November 1960, with 430 men in training, the leaders of the brigade were chosen, and the group was named Brigade 2506, using the membership number of Carlos (Carlyle) Rafael Santana Estevez, who had died in a training accident in September 1960. The principal commanders were appointed as follows :-
- Manuel Francisco ArtimeManuel ArtimeManuel Francisco Artime Buesa, M.D. was a Cuban-American who former took part to the rebel army of Fidel Castro, later was the political leader of Brigade 2506 land forces in the abortive Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in April 1961.-Biography:Manuel Artime was the nephew of popular Cuban poet José...
Buesa: political leader - Jose Alfredo 'Pepe' Perez San Roman: military commander
- Erneido Andres OlivaErneido OlivaErneido Andres Oliva Gonzalez is a Cuban-American who was the deputy commander of Brigade 2506 land forces in the abortive Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba in April 1961....
Gonzalez: military second-in-command - Manuel Villafana Martinez: commander of the air force
- Alejandro del Valle Marti: 1st paratroop battalion
- Hugo Sueiro Rios: 2nd infantry battalion
- Noelio Montero Diaz: 3rd battalion
- Valentin 'Pipo' Bacallao Ponte: 4th armoured battalion
- Ricardo Montero DuqueRicardo Montero DuqueRicardo Montero Duque , was a military battalion commander in the invading forces of Brigade 2506 during the Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba in April 1961....
: 5th infantry battalion - Francisco Montiel (Maciera) Rivera: 6th infantry battalion
- Roberto Perez San Roman: heavy gun battalion
- Ramon J Ferrer Mena: chief of staff
- Enrique Ruiz Williams Alfert
- Higinio Nino Diaz Ane
About 2,680 names are known for members of the brigade. About 1,334 men travelled on the seaborne force, of which about 1,297 actually landed in Cuba, plus an additional 177 airborne paratroops. An estimated 114 drowned or were killed in action, and 1,183 were captured, tried and imprisoned. Private sympathizers in the United States eventually negotiated to give $53 million worth of food and drugs in exchange for release and repatriation of Brigade prisoners to Miami starting on 23 December 1962. On 29 December 1962, President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
hosted a 'welcome back' ceremony for captured Brigade 2506 veterans at the Orange Bowl in Miami. Some of its members have gone on to found the Brigade 2506 Veteran's Association which controls the Bay of Pigs Museum & Library in Miami.
Among the brigade members were:
- Lorenzo (CABALLO LOCO) Serrano-Perez
- Orlando BoschOrlando BoschOrlando Bosch Ávila was a Cuban exile militant, former Central Intelligence Agency-backed operative, and head of Coordination of United Revolutionary Organizations, which the FBI has described as "an anti-Castro terrorist umbrella organization". Former U.S. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh called...
- Jorge Más CanosaJorge Mas CanosaJorge Mass Canosa was a Cuban-American activist best known for his strong opposition to Fidel Castro and his leadership of the Cuban American National Foundation. He was considered by some to be the leading figure in the Cuban exile community in Miami, Florida...
- Luis Posada CarrilesLuis Posada CarrilesLuis Clemente Faustino Posada Carriles is a Cuban-born Venezuelan anti-communist and former Central Intelligence Agency agent....
- Jose Antonio LlamaJose Antonio LlamaJose Antonio Llama was a former director on the executive board of the Cuban American National Foundation . Llama also took part in the United States Central Intelligence Agency backed Bay of Pigs Invasion....
- Bernard BarkerBernard BarkerBernard Leon Barker , known as "Macho" or by his mother's maiden name, "Terry", was a Watergate burglar, and burglar of Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office....
- Félix Rodríguez (Central Intelligence Agency)Félix Rodríguez (Central Intelligence Agency)Félix Ismael Rodríguez Mendigutia is a former Central Intelligence Agency officer infamous for his involvement in the Bay of Pigs Invasion, in the interrogation and execution of Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara and his ties to George H. W. Bush during the Iran-Contra Affair...
- Sergio Gilberto Díaz
- Alfredo Gonzalez Duran
- Raul MasvidalRaul MasvidalRaul Masvidal is a Cuban-American banker and real estate developer. He is one of the three original founders of the Cuban American National Foundation.-Cuban activism:...
- Manuel Antonio de Varona
See also
- War against the BanditsWar Against the BanditsThe War Against the Bandits was a six-year rebellion in the Escambray Mountains by a group of Cuban insurgents who opposed the new Communist government led by Fidel Castro...
- Bay of Pigs InvasionBay of Pigs InvasionThe Bay of Pigs Invasion was an unsuccessful action by a CIA-trained force of Cuban exiles to invade southern Cuba, with support and encouragement from the US government, in an attempt to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro. The invasion was launched in April 1961, less than three months...
- Cuban exileCuban exileThe term "Cuban exile" refers to the many Cubans who have sought alternative political or economic conditions outside the island, dating back to the Ten Years' War and the struggle for Cuban independence during the 19th century...
- Cuban dissident movement