In 1961 anti-Castro Cubans unsucessfully attempted to overthrow Castro's government. They were helped by Cuban exiles backed by the United States. On April 17, these 1,300 of these exiles landed on the Bahia de Cochinos, or the Bay of Pigs, which is on the south coast of Cuba. They were all armed with U.S. weapontry. They were hoping that along the way, their army would increase as they crossed the island to Havana, but they were quickly stopped by Castro's army. The fighting lasted for 2 days, and over 90 people were killed, while the rest were captured as prisoners. This loss embarrassed President Kennedy. He was blamed for not giving enough support. The captured exiles were ransomed by the united states later on.