Mariel boatlift
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The Mariel boatlift was a mass movement of Cubans who departed from Cuba's Mariel Harbor to the United States between April 15 and October 31, 1980.
The boatlift was precipitated by a sharp downturn in the Cuban economy, leading to simmering internal tensions on the island and a bid by up to 10,000 Cubans to gain asylum in the Peruvian embassy.
The Cuban government subsequently announced that anyone who wanted to leave could do so, and an impromptu exodus organised by Cuban-Americans with the agreement of Cuban President Fidel Castro was underway. The boatlift began to have negative political implications for U.S. President Jimmy Carter when it was discovered that a number of the exiles had been released from Cuban jails and mental health facilities. The exodus was ended by mutual agreement between the two governments in October 1980, but by that time up to 125,000 had made the journey to Florida.
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[edit] Background
The Mariel Boatlift story has its roots in 1977 and improving relations between Cuba and the United States. The Carter administration established an Interest Section in Havana while the Cuban government reciprocated by establishing an Interest Section in Washington, D.C. Cuba agreed to the release of several dozen political prisoners and further allowed Cuban Americans to return to the island to visit relatives – a privilege that had been denied to Cuban exiles living abroad.
On April 1, 1980 Hector Sanyustiz acted on a plan he had secretly been organizing for months. He boarded a bus, and along with three others and the driver, stopped several blocks from Embassy Row in downtown Havana. The driver, Hector’s friend, announced that the bus had broken down and consequently emptied the vehicle, excepting the four others who were in on the plan. Hector took control of the bus and promptly drove it through a fence in the Peruvian embassy. Some of the Cuban guards who were positioned to guard the street opened fire on the bus, one being fatally wounded in the cross-fire. The five had taken these measures to ask for political asylum and the Peruvian diplomat in charge of the embassy, Ernesto Pinto-Bazurco, granted it.
The Cuban government immediately made an appeal to the Peruvian government to return the five individuals, alleging that they would have to be tried in the death of one of the guards. Upon Peru’s refusal, Fidel Castro threatened to remove the guards at the entrance to the Peruvian embassy, which he did on Good Friday, April 4, 1980. The news spread by word of mouth and by Easter Sunday, there were over 10,000 people crammed into the tiny Peruvian embassy grounds. People occupied every open space in the grounds, eventually climbing trees and other structures. The dangerous situation was allayed somewhat by other embassies, including those of Spain and Costa Rica, which agreed to take a small number of people. Castro then proclaimed that the port of Mariel would be opened to anyone who wanted to leave, as long as they had someone to pick them up. While news of the events was not broadcast in Cuba, Cuban exiles in the United States rushed to Key West and to docks in Miami to hire boats and rescue their relatives.
The Cuban government eventually closed the harbor to all would-be Cuban emigrants. Due to ocean currents and its proximity to the U.S., the refugees' vessels headed to Florida and the majority landed in Miami. The immigrants were detained upon arrival and crowded conditions in South Florida immigration processing centers forced U.S. government agencies to swiftly move the "Marielitos" to other centers in Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania; Fort McCoy, Wisconsin; and Fort Chaffee, Arkansas. Riots in the Fort Chaffee center were a factor in the re-election defeat of then-Governor Bill Clinton. President Jimmy Carter was also heavily criticized for his handling of the situation.
During this period, approximately 125,000 Cubans arrived at the United States' shores in about 1,700 boats, creating large waves of people that overwhelmed the U.S. Coast Guard. Cuban guards packed boat after boat, without regard for who the boat was picking up, without regard for weather or lifejacket safety, making some of the over-crowded boats barely seaworthy; 27 migrants died, including 14 on an overloaded boat that capsized on May 17, 1980.
Upon arrival, many Cubans were placed in refugee camps, while others were held to federal prisons to undergo deportation hearings. Some were later discovered to be violent felons released from Cuban prisons, but only 2% or 2,746 Cubans were considered serious or violent criminals under United States law and therefore were denied asylum.[1]
[edit] Popular Culture
The Mariel boatlift is depicted in the films Scarface (1983), The Perez Family (1995), and Before Night Falls (2000).
Some of the more famous Mariel boatlift refugees ("Marielitos") include:
- Pulitzer Prize winner and writer Mirta Ojito
- Writer and poet Reinaldo Arenas
- Murderer of Mia Zapata, Jesus Mezquia.
- Real World star Pedro Zamora.
- Telemundo's Al Rojo Vivo anchor Jorge D. Bernal.
[edit] References
- Larzelere, Alex. The 1980 Cuban Boatlift. (Washington DC: National Defense University Press): 1988.
- Mariel Boatlift on globalsecurity.org.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Mariel Boatlift Global Security.org
[edit] External links
- Memories of Mariel: 20 Years Later.
- Six-year study of Mariel refugees
