1960: Castro Hits The Floor

== 1960: Castro Hits The Floor== January 2, 1960 sparked the deaths of Fidel Castro and his brother Raul at the hands of carpet bombers, and the births of a new administration led by Che Guevara and a plan to invade the Southern United States. This alternate history I also enjoy using the title 'Two Birds With One Stone'. This is the story.

Operation Fire From Above
As you may know, the late 1950s - early 1960s really marked Cuba on the map as a 'Communist paradise'. Fidel Castro rose to worldwide infamy, as did the Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis; however, imagine that the latter two did not happen, at least, right away.

On December 14, 1959, at 12:30 pm, President Eisenhower officially authorized the assassination of Fidel Castro. Approximately 30 minutes after this annoucement, Secretary of Defense Thomas S. Gates, Jr. contacted the Colombian Air Force in hopes of conducting a joint operation with the USAF. Days later, the operation was designated 'Operation Fire From Above'.

On January 2, 1960, at 8:36 am, a group of B-52s entered airspace over Isla de Pinos. The Colombian Army had evacuated almost the entire population of the island to Nueva Gerona in the north.

At that time, Fidel and Raul Castro were meeting at their secret bunker to discuss 'business opportunes' with North Korea.

At 8:53 am, the Castro bunker came into view from the B-52's. At exactly 8:53:29 am (according to the pilot's watch) the bombs, all seven (count 'em) fell out of the cargo doors. At that moment, both Fidel and Raul Castro were vaporized within 0.04 of detonation.

Aftermath
For most, it was a national day of celebration the next morning, after President Eisenhower made his speech from the Truman Balcony. In Washington D.C., jubiliant throngs filled Lafayette Square.

On January 9, Che Guevara succeeded Fidel Castro as First Secretary, and swiftly began launching a revenge attack on the United States.

On January 17, the CIA released a statement citing 'unawareness of Raul Castro's presence in the building'.

Cuban invasion of U.S.
On March 3, 1960, several Cuban battleships were spotted off the coast of Louisiana.