Russia knew Bay of Pigs invasion date, documents say

WASHINGTON - Shortly after the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1961, a top CIA official told an investigative commission that the Soviet Union had learned the exact date of the amphibious landing in advance, according to a newly declassified version of the commission's final report.

Moreover, the CIA apparently had known of the leak to the Soviets - and went ahead with the invasion anyway.

In an effort to oust Fidel Castro, the CIA organized and trained a force of about 1,400 Cuban exiles and launched the invasion April 17, 1961. Castro's soldiers easily repelled the landing force in what became one of the worst foreign-policy blunders of the Cold War.

The investigative commission, headed by Gen. Maxwell Taylor, sent a sharply critical report to President Kennedy in June 1961.

The revelation about the Russians' knowledge came in testimony before the Taylor Commission by Jacob Esterline, the CIA operations official who headed the task force responsible for coordinating the invasion. The source of the leak, however, remains a mystery.

There is no indication Kennedy was warned of the leak.