brigade 2506
{{short description|Group of Cuban exiles who attempted to invade Cuba}}
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name = Brigade 2506
| native_name =
| image = Shield of Brigade 2506.svg
| image_size = 100
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| dates = May 1960 – December 1962
| country = {{Flag|Cuba}}
| allegiance = {{flag|United States}}
{{flagdeco|Cuba|1902}} Cuban DRF
| branch = {{flagicon image|Flag of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.svg}} CIA
| type = State-sponsored paramilitary organization
| role = Guerrilla warfare
| size = 1,511
| command_structure =
| garrison = JMTrax, Guatemala
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| nickname =
| motto = Overthrow Fidel Castro
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| identification_symbol =
| identification_symbol_label = Distinctive unit insignia
| identification_symbol_2 = File:Flag of Brigade 2506.svg
| identification_symbol_2_label = Brigade flag
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}}
Brigade 2506 (Brigada Asalto 2506) was a CIA-sponsored group of Cuban exiles 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.
History
In November 1960, with Gregorio Aguilar Matteo spearheading training with 430 men, the leaders 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; it was also known as the Blindado Battalion among members.Johnson, Haynes. 1964, 1974. The Bay of Pigs: The Leaders' Story of Brigade 2506. W.W. Norton & Co Inc. New York. {{ISBN|0-393-04263-4}}, p. 47{{Cite web |title=2506 Brigade Flag |url=https://www.spymuseum.org/exhibition-experiences/about-the-collection/collection-highlights/2506-brigade-flag/ |access-date=2023-03-24 |website=International Spy Museum |language=en}} The principal commanders were appointed as follows:Thomas, Hugh. 1971, 1986. The Cuban Revolution. Weidenfeld and Nicolson. London. (Shortened version of Cuba: The Pursuit of Freedom, includes all history 1952–1970) {{ISBN|0-297-79037-4}} {{ISBN|0-297-78954-6}}, p. 581Fernandez, Jose Ramon. 2001. Playa Giron/Bay of Pigs: Washington's First Military Defeat in the Americas. Pathfinder {{ISBN|0-87348-925-X}} {{ISBN|9780873489256}}, p. 101
- Manuel Francisco Artime Buesa: Political leader
- José Alfredo Pérez San Román "Pepe": Military commander
- Erneido Andrés Oliva González: Military second-in-command
- Manuel Villafaña Martínez: Commander of the air force
- Ramón J. Ferrer Mena: Chief of staff
- Enrique Ruíz-Williams, 2nd in Command of the Heavy Weapons Battalion
- Higinio "Nino" Díaz, Commander of the "Special Battalion" and "Operation Mars"{{Cite web |last=Studies |first=Cuba Strategic |title=EL BATALLÓN ESPECIAL DE LA BRIGADA 2506 – Cuba Strategic Studies |url=https://cubastrategicstudies.com/el-batallon-especial-de-la-brigada-2506/ |access-date=2024-11-11 |language=en}}
- Francisco Pérez Castro "Brillo": Infantry battalion
- Alejandro del Valle Martí: 1st Paratroop Battalion
- Hugo Sueiro Ríos: 2nd Infantry Battalion
- Noelio Montero Díaz: 3rd Battalion
- Valentín Bacallao Ponte "Pipo": 4th Armoured Battalion
- Ricardo Montero Duque: 5th Infantry Battalion
- Francisco Montiel Maciera Rivera: 6th Infantry Battalion
- Roberto Pérez San Román: Heavy Gun Battalion
About 1,334 men traveled on a seaborne force from Guatemala, 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 medicine 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 Veterans' Association, which own the Bay of Pigs Museum & Library in Miami.{{cite news|title=Exiles' passion still high 40 years after Bay of Pigs |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2001/US/04/17/bay.of.pigs/index.html |publisher=CNN |author=Susan Candiotti & Garrick Utley |date=2001-04-17}}{{cite news|title=Remembering the Bay of Pigs invasion |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2001/fyi/news/04/17/bay.of.pigs/ |publisher=CNN |author=Susan Candiotti & Garrick Utley |date=2001-04-17}}{{cite news|title=Bay of Pigs vets have put their loss in perspective |date=2006-04-20 |author=Oscar Corral |work=The Seattle Times}}{{cite magazine|title=The Return of Brigade 2506 |date=January 4, 1963 |magazine=Time}}Thomas (1971){{page needed|date=October 2015}}
See also
- Cuban dissident movement
- James B. Donovan{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2016-featured-story-archive/the-negotiator.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170307153339/https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2016-featured-story-archive/the-negotiator.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 7, 2017 |title=The Negotiator |date=June 16, 2017 |department=News & Information |series=Feature Story Archive |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |location=Washington, D.C. |access-date=July 25, 2017}}
- Escambray rebellion
References
{{reflist}}
- Wyden, Peter: Bay of Pigs - The Untold Story. Simon and Schuster. New York 1979, {{ISBN|0-671-24006-4}} {{ISBN|0224017543}} {{ISBN|978-0-671-24006-6}}.
External links
{{Portal|Cuba}}
- [https://www.bayofpigsbrigade2506.com/ Bay of Pigs Veterans Association] Brigade 2506
- [http://jfk.hood.edu/Collection/Weisberg%20Subject%20Index%20Files/C%20Disk/CIA%20Assault%20Brigade%202506/Item%2001.pdf Newsweek article about Brigade 2506]
- [https://www.latinamericanstudies.org/bay-of-pigs/nino-diaz-battalion.pdf Organizational Chart for the "Special Battalion" commanded by Nino Diaz]
{{Cuba-United States relations}}
Category:Aftermath of the Cuban Revolution
Category:Anti-Castro organizations in the United States
Category:Anti-communist guerrilla organizations
Category:Central Intelligence Agency