On politically important event in the 1960’s was the attempt to “remove” Fidel Castro from power in Cuba. The Bay of Pigs invasion was a covert mission launched by the US government in April of 1961 under the Kennedy administration. Its purpose was to insert 1400 CIA trained Cuban operatives into southern Cuba into a location known as the Bay of Pigs. They would then make their way northward to Castro’s capitol in Havana. The operatives’ mission was to carry out the program nicknamed “Operation PLUTO”. OP PLUTO called for the replacement of the Castro regime, with one that was more focused on the true interests of the Cuban people; and one that is more acceptable to the US. It was also paramount that it did not appear that the US had any involvement in this issue. The method of removal covered all bases including assassination. This was just the beginning of the troubles that the US had with Cuba under JFK, later to come was the infamous Cuban Missile Crisis. It was a time of tension and fear, with the realization that the US could be the target of Nuclear Weapons, and with Cuba being only 90 miles south of Florida, the missiles could reach every location in the continental US.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKlnM_n1s1E