Spira traveled to Cuba in 1958 shortly after Fidel Castro and his followers ousted Fulgencio Batista, writing about the changes he was witnessing, which "reflected the exhilarating early days of the revolution, before American hostility had pushed Castro into the arms of the Soviet Union and led him to repress opposition." Spira was the first American journalist to travel to Cuba and interview Castro after the revolution. His writing led the SWP and other leftists to form the Fair Play for Cuba Committee, which worked to inform Americans about Cuba and prevent a U.S. invasion. Two weeks before the Bay of Pigs Invasion, Spira warned of preparations involving CIA coordination with Cuban exiles."