Bay of pigs invasion

Bay of Pigs Invasion
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1. What economic benefits was the US getting from Cuba in the period of the Bay of Pigs invasion and what impact did our meddling including the Platt Amendment, have?Upon gaining independence in 1998 from their Spanish masters, the US and Cuba struck many economic pacts. These economic deals were quite fruitful till the Bay of Pigs invasion, which deteriorated the relationship between these nations. Some of the economic benefits that the US gained from Cuba included the establishment of US-controlled oil refineries such as Anglo-Dutch Shell, Standard Oil, and Esso in Cuba. The US also had Banks and sugar mills based in Cuba, with the latter milling sugar that could then be imported into the US. Other US companies such as Sears Roebuck and Coca-Cola were also based in Cuba. It also made Guantanamo Bay a US base, which was used as a watchtower into the activities of Cuba. The Platt Amendment essentially made Cuba a protectorate state of the US. It was a deceiving document that selfishly made Cuba a colony despite helping it attain its independence from Spain (Reid‐Henry, 2007). And upon its disbandment in the lead up to the Bay of Pigs invasion, the relations between the two countries deteriorated significantly, especially after Fidel Castro took over the reins of Cuba. Consequently, Cuba nationalized all the US assets in Cuba and the US responded by effecting a trade embargo, which has been in effect to date. 2. What overarching lessons or critiques/analysis can we glean about the US in this period from the Cuba story?
One important lesson from this period is that one should be prepared for failure and plan accordingly (Rasenberger, 2012).

Despite having doubts about the CIA plan, John F Kennedy authorized for the operation to continue while knowing that he would not authorize the US military to intervene if things went wrong. He only hoped for the initial attack by the Cuban exiles to work (which did not work) without any form of a contingency plan. It is thus advisable for policymakers to always weigh their options before executing any project and when they execute it an alternative plan should be in place in case the primary one fails. Had the US learned from this mistake, what is happening in Libya could have been prevented.
References
Rasenberger, J. (2012). The brilliant disaster: JFK, Castro, and America’s doomed invasion of Cuba’s Bay of Pigs. Simon and Schuster.
Reid‐Henry, S. (2007). Exceptional sovereignty? Guantánamo Bay and the re‐colonial present. Antipode, 39(4), 627-648.