Guatemala apologizes to Cuba for Bay of Pigs

[Judi Lynn]

Feb 17, 5:29 PM EST

Guatemala apologizes to Cuba for Bay of Pigs

HAVANA (AP) -- Guatemala's president has apologized to Cuba for his country's allowing the CIA to train exiles in the Central American country for the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion.

Alvaro Colom says he wants to "officially ask Cuba for forgiveness as president and head of state, and as commander in chief of the Guatemala army."

He made the apology Tuesday during a speech at the University of Havana.

About 1,500 Cuban exiles trained under CIA guidance in Guatemala before invading the island in April 1961 in an unsuccessful bid to overthrow Fidel Castro's communist government. The Bay of Pigs invasion ended after three days with about 100 invaders killed and another 1,000 captured by Cuban forces.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CB_CUBA_GUATEMALA_BAY_OF_PIGS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2009-02-17-17-29-21

[EFerrari]

1. Wow!

This brings up an interesting question: did Guatemala have any choice in the matter at the time?

[rabs]

2. Nope, not after the CIA-sponsored coup in 1954

In 1959, revolution in Cuba heightened the intensity of political conflict throughout Latin America. In Guatemala, the installation of an independent socialist government in Cuba gave hope to the nationalist opposition defeated in 1954. At the same time, these events worried Guatemala’s upper classes and the regime’s U.S. sponsors. Worried about a return of an independent and populist government, the U.S. made Guatemala a pilot program for both military and covert political intervention in the Caribbean basin. The single-minded insistence of "no more Cubas" would soon destroy Guatemala’s political system (Jonas 1981).

http://shr.aaas.org/guatemala/ciidh/qr/english/chap2.html

[Judi Lynn]

3. Just glanced at the link you've posted. It's excellent, will read it thoroughly tonight.

It's exactly the kind of information we've been needing a long time. I see there's more reading available from that site, too, which will be very useful.

Thanks for the quality info.! :hi: