1/19/1961

“JAN 19, 1961: President [Dwight D.] Eisenhower meets again with President-elect [John F.] Kennedy and endorses the covert Cuban operation. Eisenhower makes it clear that the project is going very well and that it is the new administration’s responsibility to do whatever is necessary to bring it to a successful conclusion. According to notes taken during the meeting, ‘Senator Kennedy asked the President’s judgment as to the United States supporting the guerrilla operation in Cuba, even if this support involves the United States publicly. The President replied Yes as we cannot let the present government there go on.’”

“The Bay of Pigs Invasion/Playa Giron: A Chronology of Events,” The National Security Archive, NSArchive2.gwu.edu