On April 17, 1961, approximately 1,400 Cuban exiles landed in the Bay of Pigs and were quickly surrounded by 20,000 well-equipped soldiers loyal to the regime. On the third day, the 1,200 survivors were taken to prison camps.” This failed attempt to overthrow the dictator reflected the equally poor training provided by US forces in South America. . Ultimately, poor preparation and planning of the assault decided the outcome. Numerous miscalculations and sloppy execution by the exiles led to their defeat, however part of the responsibility for their actions falls on the United States. In addition to the defeat, US involvement became apparent to the Cubans who should not have even known that the United States United they supported the rebellion. This has led to extremely poor relations between the United States and Cuba in addition to the trade embargo separating the two countries. After this embarrassing meeting, the Cubans began to align themselves more with the Soviet Union and began breaking all ties with America. This strengthened his rise to power and confirmed his true communist beliefs. The presence of offensive nuclear weapons on Cuba became undeniably clear on October 15, 1962 when Kennedy was presented with visual confirmation of their existence. Just two days earlier, an American U-2 spy plane had managed to photograph medium-range ballistic missiles being assembled and the means to launch them.