The Bay of Pigs Turns 50

http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/bay_of_pigs_turns_50_20110416/

Posted on Apr 16, 2011

This weekend marked the 50th anniversary of Cuba’s defeat of a CIA-backed invasion at the Bay of Pigs, and the communist nation remembered the occasion with a parade Saturday celebrating the bloody nose it delivered to its powerful neighbor. —JCL

Associated Press via The Guardian:

Cuba kicked off a crucial Communist Party congress Saturday with a big military and civilian parade to mark 50 years since the defeat of CIA-backed exiles at the Bay of Pigs, still celebrated here as a landmark triumph over the island’s powerful neighbor to the north.

Thousands of soldiers high-stepped through sprawling Revolution Plaza as a military band played martial music, not far from an iconic sculpture of Ernesto “Che” Guevara that gazes down from the side of the Interior Ministry building. Helicopters whirred and jet fighters in combat formation roared overhead while freshly painted amphibious assault vehicles and rocket launchers rumbled past.

“Long live Fidel! Long live Raul! Long live the Communist Party of Cuba!” a female announcer shouted, and participants responded with shouts of approval.

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Flickr / welovepands

A memorial to the Cubans who died during the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion at Playa Giron.