In retaliation for the oil refinery incident, Pres. Eisenhower cut Cuba's sugar quota by 95 percent. Eisenhower declared economic war on Cuba, stating that the U.S. would never allow a regime “dominated by international Communism” in the Western Hemisphere. Following this, the CUBAN GOVERNMENT BEGAN EXPROPRIATING ALLU.S.-OWNED PROPERTY in Cuba, without compensation.
After a right-wing bomb attack on a Castroite rally in Havana, Castro announced the creation of Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, local groups armed and prepared against attack and invasion. By the time of the Bay of Pigs invasion, there were 8,000 such committees. These groups, along with organizations such as the Cuban Federation of Women, founded in 1960 by Vilma Espín (wife of Raúl Castro), also became important foci for grassroots political organization.
