Brigade 2506 was the name given to a CIA-sponsored group made up of 1,511 Cuban exiles who fought in the Bay of Pigs Invasion at Playa Girón in Cuba.^[1][2][3][4] The brigade's name was derived from the military ID issued to the first member of the brigade to die in military training. The CIA Seal The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is an American intelligence agency, responsible for obtaining and analyzing information about foreign governments, corporations, and individuals, and reporting such information to the various branches of the U.S. Government. ... Cuba is 90 miles (145 kilometres) south of Florida in the US The term Cuban exile refers to the many Cubans who have sought alternative political or economic conditions outside the island, dating back to the Ten Years War and the struggle for Cuban independence during the 19th century. ... Combatants Cubans trained by Soviet advisors Cuban exiles trained by United States Commanders Fidel Castro José Ramón Fernández Ernesto Che Guevara Francisco Ciutat de Miguel Grayston Lynch Pepe San Roman Erneido Oliva Strength 51,000 1,500 Casualties various estimates; over 1,600 dead[1] to 5,000... The Bay of Pigs (Spanish: Bahía de (los) Cochinos) is a bay on the southern coast of Cuba. ...

The brigade trained in CIA training camps in South Florida, Panama, and Guatemala. The invasion involved an amphibious landing at night, with an infiltration team organized in Trinidad, Cuba who were to open a second front.^[3][1][2] When Brigade 2506 landed at Playa Girón, they were quickly engaged by the Cuban military. Planes located on Cuban air fields belonging to Nicaragua had notified the Cuban government of the impending invasion.^[1][2] For 48 hours the paramilitary forces of Brigade 2506 were under artillery fire.^[3][1][2] Outnumbered and suffering heavy losses, they were forced to retreat to the Zapata Swamp. This article is about the U.S. State of Florida. ... It has been suggested that Landing operation be merged into this article or section. ... See: espionage, urban exploration, entryism, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. ... Trinidad, pop. ... Battlefront redirects here. ... A paramilitary organization is a group of civilians trained and organized in a military fashion. ... For other uses, see Artillery (disambiguation). ...

Stranded in the swampland, most of the members were eventually captured and imprisoned. A few of the members were able to escape by riding small, rigid boats back to the United States of America. Initially, the CIA denied having any connections with the brigade. However the United States later admitted a connection with the brigade and negotiated to pay a $53 million ransom for their return.^[4] All the surviving brigade members would be released and deported back to the United States by December 1962. In the end, roughly 114 members of the brigade died.^[3][1][2][4] Some of its members have gone on to found the Brigade 2506 Veteran's Association which controls the Bay of Pigs Museum & Library in Miami, Florida.^[3][1][2] The term ransom refers to the practice of holding a prisoner to extort money or property extorted to secure their release, or to the sum of money involved. ... Deportation is the expelling of someone from a country. ... Miami redirects here. ...

The brigade was commanded by a 29-year-old former sergeant in the Cuban Army, Pepe San Ramon.

Among the brigade members were:

• Orlando Bosch
• Jorge Más Canosa
• Luis Posada Carriles
• Jose Antonio Llama
• Bernard Barker
• Félix Rodríguez (Central Intelligence Agency)
• Sergio Gilberto Díaz

Orlando Bosch is a Cuban exile and former CIA-backed terrorist, head of CORU organization, which the FBI has described as an anti-Castro terrorist umbrella organization. He has been accused of having taken part in Operation Condor and of a variety of terrorist attacks. ... Jorge Más Canosa (1939 – November 23, 1997) was a Cuban-American activist best known for his strong opposition to Fidel Castro and his leadership of the Cuban-American National Foundation. ... Arrest photograph of Luis Posada Carriles Luis Clemente Faustino Posada Carriles (born February 15, 1928) is a Cuban-born Venezuelan anti-Castro agent. ... Jose Antonio Llama Jose Antonio Llama (Toñin) was a former director on the executive board of the Cuban American National Foundation (CANF). ... Bernard Barker Bernard L. Barker (b. ... Felix Rodriguez with the captured Che Guevara. ...

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Susan Candiotti & Garrick Utley. "Exiles' passion still high 40 years after Bay of Pigs", CNN, April 17, 2001. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Susan Candiotti & Garrick Utley. "Remembering the Bay of Pigs invasion", CNN, April 17, 2001. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d e} Oscar Corral. "Bay of Pigs vets have put their loss in perspective", Seattle Times, April 20, 2006. 
4. ^ ^{a b c} "The Return of Brigade 2506", Time Magazine, January 04, 1963. 

Further reading

• Bay of Pigs and Brigade 2506
• The Process of The Bay of Pigs
• Brigade 2506
• Bay of Pigs Museum & Library
• Brigade 2506 Veteran's Association