Brigade 2506

Brigade 2506
Brigade 2506
Active	May 1960 – December 1962
Country	Cuba
Type	State-sponsored paramilitary organization
Role	Guerrilla warfare
Size	1,511
Garrison/HQ	JMTrax, Guatemala
Motto(s)	Overthrow Fidel Castro
Engagements	Cold War Bay of Pigs Invasion; ;
Insignia
Brigade flag

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.^[1]^[2] The principal commanders were appointed as follows:^[3]^[4]

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"^[5]
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.^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]

References

^ 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
^ "2506 Brigade Flag". International Spy Museum. Retrieved 2023-03-24.
^ 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. 581
^ Fernandez, 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
^ Studies, Cuba Strategic. "EL BATALLÓN ESPECIAL DE LA BRIGADA 2506 – Cuba Strategic Studies". Retrieved 2024-11-11.
^ Susan Candiotti & Garrick Utley (2001-04-17). "Exiles' passion still high 40 years after Bay of Pigs". CNN.
^ Susan Candiotti & Garrick Utley (2001-04-17). "Remembering the Bay of Pigs invasion". CNN.
^ Oscar Corral (2006-04-20). "Bay of Pigs vets have put their loss in perspective". The Seattle Times.
^ "The Return of Brigade 2506". Time. January 4, 1963.
^ Thomas (1971)^{[page needed]}
^ "The Negotiator". News & Information. Feature Story Archive. Washington, D.C.: Central Intelligence Agency. June 16, 2017. Archived from the original on March 7, 2017. Retrieved July 25, 2017.

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

[1] 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

[2] "2506 Brigade Flag". International Spy Museum. Retrieved 2023-03-24.

[3] 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. 581

[4] Fernandez, 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

[5] Studies, Cuba Strategic. "EL BATALLÓN ESPECIAL DE LA BRIGADA 2506 – Cuba Strategic Studies". Retrieved 2024-11-11.

[CNN1-6] Susan Candiotti & Garrick Utley (2001-04-17). "Exiles' passion still high 40 years after Bay of Pigs". CNN.

[CNN2-7] Susan Candiotti & Garrick Utley (2001-04-17). "Remembering the Bay of Pigs invasion". CNN.

[Seattle1-8] Oscar Corral (2006-04-20). "Bay of Pigs vets have put their loss in perspective". The Seattle Times.

[Time1-9] "The Return of Brigade 2506". Time. January 4, 1963.

[10] Thomas (1971)^{[page needed]}

[www.cia.gov;_June_16,_2017-11] "The Negotiator". News & Information. Feature Story Archive. Washington, D.C.: Central Intelligence Agency. June 16, 2017. Archived from the original on March 7, 2017. Retrieved July 25, 2017.

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History

See also

References

External links