Miami — Manuel Portuondo was still a teenager in 1960 when his family, like thousands of others, fled Cuba for Miami, following the height of the Cuban Revolution the previous year.
Soon after, while Portuondo was still in school, he learned of a military force of Cuban refugees organized by the United States government. He and several teammates decided to enlist.
“As an 18-year-old with a lot of high ideals and a big heart, I wanted to go back to my country and be free and be able to do what I want,” Portuondo said. “I joined the invasion and was shipped to Guatemala for training.”
About 1,500 Cuban exiles, supported by the CIA, attempted to invade the island nation at the Bay of Pigs on April 17, 1961, in an attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro’s fledgling communist government. More than 100 US-backed fighters either drowned or were killed in action. Another 1,200 fighters, known as Brigade 2506, were captured after running out of ammunition and spent about 20 months in captivity before their release was negotiated.
Today, only about 200 veterans remain, the youngest of whom are in their 80s. They are hosting the grand reopening of the Bay of Pigs Brigade 2506 Museum and Library in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood this month to coincide with the 65th anniversary of the Bay of Pigs invasion.
“The museum’s goal is not only to solidify the legacy of what thousands of men did that day, but also, from a historical perspective, to tell new generations that freedom has a price,” Portuondo said.
Rafael Montalvo, president of the Veterans Association 2506, said the museum will also work to educate visitors about the damage caused by decades of communist dictatorship.
Montalvo said: “The Bay of Pigs is a historical moment that determined the future of Cuba, the United States, Miami and many Latin American countries, because the failure of that intervention made communism remain in Cuba forever and completely change the country.”
The Cuban Revolution began in 1953 as an armed revolt, led by Castro, against the US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista. Following an early failed attack, the revolutionaries reorganized themselves as a guerrilla force, and the movement gained support among Cuban citizens dissatisfied with inequality and corruption. Batista fled the island on January 1, 1959, leaving Castro to take power, establish a socialist state, nationalize foreign assets, and ally with the former Soviet Union. Nearly a quarter of a million Cubans had fled to the United States by the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962.
Like most older Cuban Americans, most of the brigade’s members have historically leaned conservative. But the group broke with a half-century tradition of not endorsing individual candidates by formally endorsing the United States President Donald Trump The first campaign then reaffirmed this endorsement four years later.
“You have to understand that Trump, in 2016, came here and campaigned,” Montalvo said. “And we supported, for the first time ever, a president – we supported him politically. He made certain promises to us when he was here.”
These promises included adding new sanctions on Cuba and rescinding policies of former President Barack Obama that eased restrictions on travel and trade. They now hope that Trump can finally remove the current Cuban government for good, which will likely require action from the US military.
Trump and his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, called for… Change in Cuban leadershipwith ongoing talks between the United States and Cuba in their early stages, according to Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel. The punitive US blockade led to increased power outages, with just… Single fuel delivery In the past three months.
While Montalvo saw the need for a US military, he did not want a US invasion and occupation of Cuba. The ideal situation would be for Cuban citizens to revolt with the support of the United States, followed by American investment and the infrastructure needed to redevelop the island.
“I don’t want to see American soldiers on the ground in Cuba,” Montalvo said. “I hate to see an American soldier die because of Cuba’s freedom. I mean, we have to die ourselves before that happens.”
Montalvo said his group trusts Rubio, a Miami-born Cuban American, to guide Trump. But whatever happens, Montalvo said Cuba’s current government needs to be removed entirely.
“We ask them not to do anything if they do not get rid of the mafia that is in power now,” Montalvo said. “Because bringing about change in Cuba is limited to images only, as they did in Venezuela, it will not work in Cuba.”
In January, Trump ordered the US military to enter and seize Venezuela Then-president Nicolas Maduro. Maduro’s party remains in power, and Maduro’s former vice president now leads the country.
Carlos Leon, a member of Brigade 2506, said he may be more naive than his brothers. However, although he does not question or regret his participation in the Bay of Pigs invasion, he does not see how dropping bombs and killing people will improve anything in Cuba. Leon acknowledged that Trump’s war in Iran made it unclear that his administration was capable of effectively liberating Cuba.
“How many Cubans will you kill? How many more enemies in Cuba will you create by killing all these Cubans?” Leon said. “How do you feel because the gringos send in the Marines and the Air Force and kill or maim a certain number of Cubans? What kind of country, what kind of morale do you have as a Cuban?”
The original Bay of Pigs Museum opened in 1988 in an old house in Little Havana. It contained a collection of photos, documents and other memorabilia, in addition to a documentary film about the Three-Day Battle. The new two-story, 11,000-square-foot facility was constructed on the same site with funding from Miami-Dade County, Florida, and private donors.
The new building will be officially opened on Friday with a ceremony for members of the brigade and their families. The museum will reopen to the public after that.
Ernesto Freire said that joining Brigade 2506 was the most important action he had taken in his life.
“It was the biggest goal and commitment I’ve ever taken on,” Freire said.
Freire said he had been dreaming of a liberated Cuba since Castro took power. After nearly seven decades, he is not sure whether it will happen in his lifetime, with or without US help.
“But at least I hope my grandchildren will see it,” Freire said.