NPR's Neal Conan reports that today is the 35th anniversary of the Bay of Pigs fiasco. On April 17, 1961, a brigade of Cuban volunteers trained by the Central Intelligence Agency landed at a remote spot on the southern coast of Cuba in an attempt to overthrow the government of Fidel Castro. The bungled invasion was a military and political disaster for the United States and President John F. Kennedy. And, while the Cold War is now over, the Bay of Pigs remains a rallying cry for the Castro regime, which still uses the threat of American intervention to justify political repression.

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