Miami's Bay of Pigs Veterans Unveil New Museum for 65th Anniversary

MIAMI — Veterans of the Brigade 2506, the Cuban exile force behind the ill-fated Bay of Pigs Invasion, cut the ribbon on a new 11,000-square-foot museum and library this month, coinciding with the 65th anniversary of the April 17, 1961, operation.[1][2] Located at 1821 SW 9th Street off Southwest Eighth Street in Little Havana, the two-story facility replaces the original museum that opened in 1988 in an old home on the same site.[2] Construction was financed by Miami-Dade County, the state of Florida and private donors, with public tickets priced at $10 following a private ceremony for brigade families.[1][2] The invasion, a CIA-backed effort to topple Fidel Castro's communist regime, collapsed after President John F. Kennedy canceled vital air support, leading to over 100 deaths and the capture of more than 1,000 brigade members who endured nearly two years in prison.[1] Today, only about 200 veterans survive, all in their 80s, making the museum a urgent effort to cement their story, said Rafael Montalvo, president of the Brigade 2506 Veterans Association.[2] "The museum's purpose is not only to cement the legacy of what thousands of men did on that day, but also, from a historic perspective, to tell the new generations that freedom has a price," added another association member.[2] Housed in Miami's vibrant Cuban-American heartland, the museum features photographs, documents, artifacts, memorabilia and a documentary on the three-day battle.[2][4] Staffed partly by invasion survivors, it offers visitors firsthand accounts of the event that shaped U.S.-Cuba relations and fueled generations of exile activism in South Florida.[4] The Brigade 2506 Veterans Association, a nonprofit supported by Miami-Dade's Cultural Affairs Department, invites inquiries at (305) 649-4719 or [email protected].[5]