1980 : Castro announces Mariel Boatlift
On April 20, 1980, the Castro regime announces that all Cubans wishing
to emigrate to the U.S. are free to board boats at the port of Mariel
west of Havana, launching the Mariel Boatlift. The first of 125,000
Cuban refugees from Mariel reached Florida the next day.
The boatlift was precipitated by housing and job shortages caused by
the ailing Cuban economy, leading to simmering internal tensions on
the island. On April 1, Hector Sanyustiz and four others drove a bus
through a fence at the Peruvian embassy and were granted political
asylum. Cuban guards on the street opened fire. One guard was killed
in the crossfire.
The Cuban government demanded the five be returned for trial in the
dead guard's death. But when the Peruvian government refused, Castro
withdrew his guards from the embassy on Good Friday, April 4. By
Easter Sunday, April 6, some 10,000 Cubans crowded into the lushly
landscaped gardens at the embassy requesting asylum. Other embassies,
including those of Spain and Costa Rica, agreed to take a small number
of people. But suddenly, two weeks later, Castro proclaimed that the
port of Mariel would be opened to anyone wishing to leave, as long as
they had someone to pick them up. Cuban exiles in the United States
rushed to hire boats in Miami and Key West and rescue their relatives.
In all, 125,000 Cubans fled to U.S. shores in about 1,700 boats,
creating large waves of people that overwhelmed the U.S. Coast guard.
Cuban guards had packed boat after boat, without considering safety,
making some of the overcrowded boats barely seaworthy. Twenty-seven
migrants died, including 14 on an overloaded boat that capsized on May
17.
The boatlift also 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, many were placed in refugee camps while others were held
in federal prisons to undergo deportation hearings. Of the 125,000
"Marielitos," as the refugees came to be known, who landed in Florida,
more than 1,700 were jailed and another 587 were detained until they
could find sponsors.
The exodus was finally ended by mutual agreement between the U.S. and
Cuban governments in October 1980.
history.com/tdih.do
General Interest
1980 : Castro announces Mariel Boatlift
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihVideoCategory&id=58664
1689 : Siege of Londonderry begins
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4938
1871 : Ku Klux Act passed by Congress
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4939
1902 : Curies isolate radium
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=6873
1999 : Columbine High School massacre
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=52440
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On April 20, 1980, the Castro regime announces that all Cubans wishing
to emigrate to the U.S. are free to board boats at the port of Mariel
west of Havana, launching the Mariel Boatlift. The first of 125,000
Cuban refugees from Mariel reached Florida the next day.
The boatlift was precipitated by housing and job shortages caused by
the ailing Cuban economy, leading to simmering internal tensions on
the island. On April 1, Hector Sanyustiz and four others drove a bus
through a fence at the Peruvian embassy and were granted political
asylum. Cuban guards on the street opened fire. One guard was killed
in the crossfire.
The Cuban government demanded the five be returned for trial in the
dead guard's death. But when the Peruvian government refused, Castro
withdrew his guards from the embassy on Good Friday, April 4. By
Easter Sunday, April 6, some 10,000 Cubans crowded into the lushly
landscaped gardens at the embassy requesting asylum. Other embassies,
including those of Spain and Costa Rica, agreed to take a small number
of people. But suddenly, two weeks later, Castro proclaimed that the
port of Mariel would be opened to anyone wishing to leave, as long as
they had someone to pick them up. Cuban exiles in the United States
rushed to hire boats in Miami and Key West and rescue their relatives.
In all, 125,000 Cubans fled to U.S. shores in about 1,700 boats,
creating large waves of people that overwhelmed the U.S. Coast guard.
Cuban guards had packed boat after boat, without considering safety,
making some of the overcrowded boats barely seaworthy. Twenty-seven
migrants died, including 14 on an overloaded boat that capsized on May
17.
The boatlift also 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, many were placed in refugee camps while others were held
in federal prisons to undergo deportation hearings. Of the 125,000
"Marielitos," as the refugees came to be known, who landed in Florida,
more than 1,700 were jailed and another 587 were detained until they
could find sponsors.
The exodus was finally ended by mutual agreement between the U.S. and
Cuban governments in October 1980.
history.com/tdih.do
General Interest
1980 : Castro announces Mariel Boatlift
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihVideoCategory&id=58664
1689 : Siege of Londonderry begins
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4938
1871 : Ku Klux Act passed by Congress
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4939
1902 : Curies isolate radium
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=6873
1999 : Columbine High School massacre
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=52440
##########################################
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