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| Fidel Castro himself led
the counter-attack against the Bay of Pigs
landings |
| 1961: Exiles invade Cuba at Bay of
Pigs |
England have
Reports from Cuba say the island has been invaded by
counter-revolutionary forces trying to overthrow the country's leader,
Fidel Castro.
The only news coming out of Cuba is broadcast by the government-run
radio station. All other communications with the island have been cut.
THe first landing is reported to have taken place in the early hours of
this morning.
Broadcasts from Cuban government radio appealing for medical help
indicate that the raiders have successfully penetrated 25 miles (40km)
inland.
They appear to have come ashore on an area of the coast known as the
Bah de Cochinos, or Bay of Pigs, south-east of the capital, Havana.
There is no indication as to the size of the invasion force, but Dr
Castro, in a speech on Cuban government radio, said they are supported by
aircraft and warships.
"The glorious soldiers of the revolutionary army and the national
militia are battling the enemy at all the points where they have landed,"
he said.
High alert
The Cuban military have been on high alert for an imminent invasion for
some days.
In a speech yesterday, Fidel Castro told the Cuban people he intended
to resist such an attack with "an iron hand".
Cuban exiles based in the United States, who are organising the attempt
to overthrow the Castro regime, say thousands of Cubans have joined the
rebel forces.
However, there is no independent confirmation of the level of support
for the invasion from within Cuba.
The leader of the Cuban exile movement in the US, Dr Miro Cardona, said
the battle had begun "to liberate our homeland from the despotic rule of
Fidel Castro".
Dr Cardona played a part in Fidel Castro's revolution against the
dictatorship of President Batista in 1959, and was prime minister for 45
days before Dr Castro himself took over.
US denial
In a statement in Washington, the US Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, has
again denied US involvement in the invasion of Cuba.
He said the United States had not, and would not intervene in Cuba,
with armed forces or otherwise.
Strong suspicions that the United States is sponsoring an offensive
against the Castro government have been fuelled by the bombing of three of
Cuba's military air bases two days ago.
The US denied all knowledge of the episode, saying Cuban Air Force
pilots defecting to Florida were responsible.
But reporters who watched one of the planes land in Miami after
carrying out the attack described features which indicated it was
American-made.
