not edible but is a staple diet for the country’s plentiful population
of pigs.
The nearby home of
the former plantation
owner is now a small
museum dedicated to
the time when it was
commandeered
by
Fidel Castro as his
headquarters to direct
the
revolutionary
army during the Bay of
Pigs invasion in 1961
(an
unsuccessful
action by US-backed Cuban exiles to overthrow Castro’s
communist government). On the day of the invasion (17th April
1961), troops and militia from all over Cuba gathered at the
Australia Sugar Mill to defend the island. This township, situated
approximately about 50 kilometres north-west of Playa Girón on
the Bay of Pigs, served as Castro’s base of operations during the
three-day offensive. Today, the Bay of Pigs invasion is
commemorated with a propaganda mural at the entrance of town.
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