o had nationalized the oil industry. Furthermore, in 1954 a CIA right wing group overthrew the government of Jacobo Arbenz of Guatemala who nationalized the property of United Fruit Company, which had been owned by a wealthy group of American executives. Allen Dulles had previously been president of the United Fruit Company before becoming director of the CIA (Marrs 183) . After Fidel Castro took over Cuba, the CIA decided they did not approve of how he was managing it and attempted to remove him from power. On March 17, 1960, President Eisenhower approved a CIA proposal that later became known as the Bay of Pigs Operation. This plan to invade Cuba utilized a brigade of American trained Cuban exiles. Expecting to be elected President, Vice President Nixon attended all of the meetings and played an essential role in planning the total operation (Prouty 121). Unaware of the CIA's invasion plans the newly elected President Kennedy promised that the United States would not use military action against Cuba. Since Allen Dulles was reassigned Director of the CIA, the Operation's planners believed they could go on with the invasion (Prouty 129). When briefed by CIA Director Dulles about the invasion, the President demanded that a temporary hold be put on the total operation. However, three months after Kennedy took office the invasion was launched and was a total failure. All Cuban refugees that landed at the Bay of Pigs were captured and jailed. The CIA and the refugees blamed Kennedy because he refused to send in military air and naval support. Angry that his orders were not honored, CIA Director Allen Dulles, CIA Deputy Director General Charles Cabell, and the CIA Director of Planning Richard M. Bissel were all fired. At that time Kennedy told Senator Mike Mansfield, Majority Leader of the U.S Senate, that he would tear the CIA "into 1000 pieces and scatter them into the wind" (Groden 410-411). While the invasion on Cuba was in progress, th...
