John F. Kennedy

====Bay of Pigs Invasion====
{{main|Bay of Pigs Invasion}}
[[File:JFK Brigade 2506 meeting.jpg|thumb|President Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy greet members of the [[Brigade 2506|2506 Cuban Invasion Brigade]] at Miami's [[Miami Orange Bowl|Orange Bowl]]; {{ca|December 29, 1962}}.]]
The Eisenhower administration had created a plan to overthrow [[Fidel Castro]]'s regime though an invasion of Cuba by a counter-revolutionary insurgency composed of U.S.-trained, anti-Castro [[Cuban exile]]s{{sfn|Schlesinger|2002|pp=233, 238}}{{sfn|Gleijeses|1995}} led by [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] paramilitary officers.{{sfn|Reeves|1993|pp=69–73}} Kennedy had campaigned on a hardline stance against Castro, and when presented with the plan that had been developed under the Eisenhower administration, he enthusiastically adopted it regardless of the risk of inflaming tensions with the Soviet Union.<ref name="fiftyyearslater">{{cite news|title=50 Years Later: Learning From The Bay Of Pigs|url=https://www.npr.org/2011/04/17/135444482/50-years-later-learning-from-the-bay-of-pigs|access-date=September 1, 2016|publisher=NPR|date=April 17, 2011|archive-date=November 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191101111423/https://www.npr.org/2011/04/17/135444482/50-years-later-learning-from-the-bay-of-pigs|url-status=live}}</ref> Kennedy approved the final invasion plan on April 4, 1961.<ref>Quesada, Alejandro de (2009). ''The Bay of Pigs: Cuba 1961''. Elite series #166. Illustrated by Stephen Walsh. Osprey Publishing. p. 17.</ref>

On April 15, 1961, eight CIA-supplied [[Douglas A-26 Invader|B-26]] bombers left Nicaragua to bomb Cuban airfields. The bombers missed many of their targets, leaving most of Castro's air force intact.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Bay of Pigs |url=https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/jfk-in-history/the-bay-of-pigs |website=John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum |access-date=November 19, 2023 |archive-date=February 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210223162426/https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/jfk-in-history/the-bay-of-pigs |url-status=live }} {{PD-notice}}</ref> On April 17, the 1,500 U.S.-trained Cuban exile invasion force, known as [[Brigade 2506]], landed at beaches along the [[Bay of Pigs]] and immediately came under heavy fire.{{sfn|Reeves|1993|pp=71, 673}} The goal was to spark a widespread popular uprising against Castro, but no such uprising occurred.{{sfn|Brinkley|2012|pp=68–69}} No U.S. air support was provided.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Voss |first1=Michael |title=Bay of Pigs: The 'perfect failure' of Cuba invasion |work=BBC News |date=April 14, 2011 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-13066561 |access-date=November 26, 2023 |archive-date=December 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231218143923/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-13066561 |url-status=live }}</ref> The invading force was defeated within two days by the [[Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces]];<ref>{{cite web |title=The Bay of Pigs Invasion and its Aftermath, April 1961–October 1962 |url=https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/bay-of-pigs#:~:text=Launched%20from%20Guatemala%2C%20the%20attack,the%20direct%20command%20of%20Castro. |website=U.S. Department of State |access-date=November 26, 2023 |archive-date=August 23, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160823123217/https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/bay-of-pigs#:~:text=Launched%20from%20Guatemala%2C%20the%20attack,the%20direct%20command%20of%20Castro. |url-status=live }}</ref> 114 were killed and Kennedy was forced to negotiate for the release of the 1,189 survivors.<ref>{{cite web |title=In Echo Park Many Local Cubans Celebrate Death Of Former President Fidel Castro |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/in-echo-park-many-local-cubans-celebrate-death-of-former-president-fidel-castro/ |website=CBS News |date=November 26, 2016 |access-date=November 26, 2023 |archive-date=November 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231126173920/https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/in-echo-park-many-local-cubans-celebrate-death-of-former-president-fidel-castro/ |url-status=live }}</ref> After twenty months, Cuba released the captured exiles in exchange for a ransom of $53&nbsp;million worth of food and medicine.{{sfn|Schlesinger|2002|pp=268–294, 838–839}} The incident made Castro wary of the U.S. and led him to believe that another invasion would take place.<ref>[[Jean Edward Smith]], "Bay of Pigs: The Unanswered Questions", ''The Nation'', April 13, 1964.</ref>

Biographer [[Richard Reeves (American writer)|Richard Reeves]] said that Kennedy focused primarily on the political repercussions of the plan rather than military considerations. When it proved unsuccessful, he was convinced that the plan was a setup to make him look bad.{{sfn|Reeves|1993|pp=95–97}} He took responsibility for the failure, saying, "We got a big kick in the leg and we deserved it. But maybe we'll learn something from it."{{sfn|Schlesinger|2002|pp=290, 295}} Kennedy's approval ratings climbed afterwards, helped in part by the vocal support given to him by Nixon and Eisenhower.{{sfn|Dallek|2003|pp=370–371}} He appointed Robert Kennedy to help lead a committee to examine the causes of the failure.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hayes|first=Matthew A.|date=2019|title=Robert Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis: A Reassertion of Robert Kennedy's Role as the President's 'Indispensable Partner' in the Successful Resolution of the Crisis|journal=History|language=en|volume=104|issue=361|pages=473–503|doi=10.1111/1468-229X.12815|s2cid=164907501|issn=1468-229X|url=https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10075581/1/Hayes_%20Robert%20Kennedy%20and%20the%20Cuban%20Missile%20Crisis%20Final%20Accepted%20Manuscript.pdf|access-date=March 31, 2024|archive-date=December 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211227173632/https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10075581/1/Hayes_%20Robert%20Kennedy%20and%20the%20Cuban%20Missile%20Crisis%20Final%20Accepted%20Manuscript.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The Kennedy administration [[United States embargo against Cuba|banned all Cuban imports]] and convinced the [[Organization of American States]] (OAS) to expel Cuba.{{Sfn|Herring|2008|pp=707–708}}