Title: Commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Bay of Pigs operation and remembering the members of Brigada de Asalto 2506 (Assault Brigade 2506).
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
This resolution pays tribute to the members of Brigada de Asalto 2506 (Assault Brigade 2506) who participated in the Bay of Pigs operation, and it calls on the United States to support policies that promote respect for democratic principles, civil liberties, freedom, and justice in Cuba.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 278 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 278

  Commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Bay of Pigs operation and 
  remembering the members of Brigada de Asalto 2506 (Assault Brigade 
                                 2506).


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 26, 2021

Mr. Diaz-Balart (for himself, Mr. Bilirakis, Mrs. Demings, Mr. C. Scott 
 Franklin of Florida, Mr. Gimenez, Mr. Gonzalez of Ohio, Mr. Hastings, 
  Ms. Malliotakis, Mr. Mooney, Mrs. Murphy of Florida, Mr. Posey, Ms. 
 Salazar, Mr. Sires, Mr. Steube, Mr. Waltz, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mr. 
  Deutch, and Mr. Mast) submitted the following resolution; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Bay of Pigs operation and 
  remembering the members of Brigada de Asalto 2506 (Assault Brigade 
                                 2506).

Whereas April 17, 2021, marks the 60th anniversary of the first day of the Bay 
        of Pigs operation, an event held dear in the hearts of many who long for 
        the return of freedom, democracy, and justice to Cuba;
Whereas the dictatorship in Cuba that resulted from the January 1, 1959, 
        Communist takeover in Cuba has systematically denied the Cuban people 
        their most basic human rights and fundamental freedoms;
Whereas, from 1959 until his death in 2016, dictator Fidel Castro systematically 
        violated the human rights of the Cuban people, curtailed freedom of the 
        press, arbitrarily imprisoned and killed an untold number of members of 
        the political opposition in Cuba, and confiscated the properties of 
        citizens of Cuba and the United States;
Whereas the men and women participating in the Bay of Pigs operation assumed the 
        title of Brigada de Asalto 2506 (Assault Brigade 2506), which was named 
        after the serial number (2506) of Carlos Rodriguez Santana, a founding 
        member of the brigade who died during training exercises in September 
        1960;
Whereas Assault Brigade 2506 consisted of individuals, primarily Cuban exiles in 
        the United States, from diverse backgrounds, including doctors, nurses, 
        engineers, architects, priests, cooks, musicians, actors, business 
        owners, barbers, bankers, construction workers, office clerks, students, 
        pilots, and many other individuals representing different sectors in 
        Cuba;
Whereas, on April 17, 1961, approximately 1,400 individuals selflessly began 
        fighting to free the Cuban people from tyranny;
Whereas in the ensuing days, and in the course of a battle against the Cuban 
        military, which was superior in manpower and firepower, more than 100 
        men lost their lives;
Whereas the events of April 17 through April 20, 1961, ended with the capture 
        and imprisonment of 1,204 members or more than 75 percent of Assault 
        Brigade 2506;
Whereas a large number of the 1,204 captured members of Assault Brigade 2506 
        were imprisoned in deplorable conditions for close to 18 months, 
        subjected to harsh and inhumane treatment, and later sentenced without 
        due process to 30 years of imprisonment;
Whereas, in September 1961, the Cuban regime executed 5 members of Assault 
        Brigade 2506 who had been captured during the operation;
Whereas 67 members of Assault Brigade 2506 died in combat, including 4 American 
        pilots and 10 Cuban pilots and navigators, 10 members died while trying 
        to flee Cuba on a fishing boat that drifted in the Gulf of Mexico for 
        almost 15 days, 10 members died while being transported to prison by 
        their Cuban captors inside a sealed truck with limited oxygen, 9 members 
        were executed by firing squads, and 3 members died while in prison due 
        to lack of medical attention;
Whereas one of the most heinous acts relating to the operation was ordered by 
        then Captain Osmany Cienfuegos, who forced nearly 100 male prisoners 
        into a closed trailer in which they were transported for 8 hours with 
        limited oxygen;
Whereas the Cuban regime is a party to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, which 
        require the humane treatment of prisoners of war;
Whereas, in March 1962, as the trial of the captured fighters approached, the 
        President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) 
        appealed to Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, asking that the provisions of 
        Article 3 of the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of 
        Prisoners of War, done at Geneva, August 12, 1949, be fully applied, and 
        for permission to visit the prisoners, but all the requests went 
        unanswered;
Whereas the 1,113 members of Assault Brigade 2506 who finally returned to the 
        United States after the operation have made significant and valuable 
        contributions to the United States, while never forgetting their beloved 
        homeland;
Whereas, on December 29, 1962, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was presented 
        with the banner of Assault Brigade 2506 that had reached the shores of 
        Cuba during the operation, and the President pledged, ``I can assure you 
        that this flag will be returned to this brigade in a free Havana.'';
Whereas, on April 24, 1986, a joint resolution (Public Law 99-279; 100 Stat. 
        398) was approved ``Commemorating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the 
        Bay of Pigs invasion to liberate Cuba from Communist tyranny.'';
Whereas Cuba's authoritarian regime continues to arbitrarily detain thousands of 
        critics, activists, and opponents; and
Whereas the Cuban people continue to struggle and demand respect for democratic 
        values, civil liberties, freedom, and justice: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) remembers and pays tribute to the brave and courageous 
        members of Brigada de Asalto 2506 (Assault Brigade 2506), both 
        living and deceased;
            (2) calls on the Government of the United States to 
        continue to support policies that promote the respect for 
        democratic principles, civil liberties, freedom, and justice in 
        Cuba, in a manner consistent with the aspirations of the Cuban 
        people;
            (3) recognizes that individual members of Assault Brigade 
        2506 later joined the United States Armed Forces and fought in 
        the Vietnam war; and
            (4) recognizes that many veterans of the Bay of Pigs 
        operation settled across the United States to become productive 
        members of the society of the United States, including public 
        officials and industry leaders.
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