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The Phantom Army. Rumors circulated that a fresh, uncommitted exile army was somewhere in the Caribbean, and that a new landing was on the way. Evidence indicated that it was a phantom army; the only force of any size left intact was a 167-man commando outfit led by an ex-Castro aide, Captain Nino Diaz. On invasion day, Diaz opened his sealed orders en route to Cuba, saw that the CIA plan called for a diversionary landing at an unfamiliar spot in Camaguey province instead of Oriente province, a region that Diaz knew well. Disgusted, Diaz turned back to Florida with his men.
There was also hopeful talk that the underground in Cuba, realizing that the invasion was foredoomed, had buttoned up and managed to weather the storm. Manolo Ray, leader of the M.R.P. underground and a council member, admitted heavy losses among his people. But he believed that many survived the Castro roundup. "In four months," said Ray, "we will be stronger than before." Yet other leaders say that the underground, like the exile army, is wrecked.
With his guns and his Communist advisers, Fidel Castro had never looked stronger. It would be a long time before Cubans, either inside or outside the island, could mount a serious threat to his dictatorship. What would be done about him now became the problem of Cuba's neighbors in the hemisphere.