The Mariel Boatlift
On April 21, 1980, Hector Sanyustiz a Cuban who was seeking asylum drove a bus into the Peruvian
embassy along with four others. Hector and the four others demanded political asylum. The Peruvian embassy held Hector and the others even after Fidel asked to have them released. Fidel Castro
later removed his guards from the embassy because they refused to return Hector Sanyustiz and
the four other individuals. This later resulted in thousands of other Cubans trashing the Peruvian
embassy and demanding political asylum.
It was then when the Fidel Castro opened the port of Mariel which is approximately 119 miles from Key West, Florida. He announced that anyone who wanted to leave Cuba was free to do so. When the U.S heard of this incident families in the U.S started renting and sending out any boat they could find to picked up their loved ones from the Mariel, thus beginning one of the largest exoduses in history. Crafts carried more than the capacity amount permitted. Each boat was being filled with as many people as they could fit. Some boats that left Mariel never made it to Key West. one boat was capsized along the way. President at the time Jimmy Carter agreed to open the U.S boarders to the emigrating Cubans. Fidel Castro seized this opportunity to load boats with all undesirables. When Jimmy Carter got news of all the felons, retards and patients from Cuban mental facilities he feared his upcoming election would not be good. On September 26, 1980 Cuba and the United States ended the Cuban exodus .
Over those 6 months it is said to be that as many as 125,000 Cubans had made the journey to a new life in the United States. To avoid a flood of immigrants all being settled in one place different camp sites were set up in Miami, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico and Oklahoma. The US army dispatched help from North Carolina. These armed men would soon be helping at the sites where the Cuban refugees were being checked out at. The biggest processing center was the super bowl stadium. In these centers the marielitos were being fed and interviewed. Food, clothing, and shelter were generously donated by individuals, local business, and civic groups. The processing and housing operation involved more than 1,500 volunteers daily, who worked day and night in a unique and heart warming show of care and goodwill (Unzueta,1989 ). Once processed the refugees were documented and transferred to other areas so they could wait to be reunited with family members. Those with no relatives would soon find sponsors to work for. In these sites the undesirables were identified and segregated from the general public. These people were held in federal prisons until sentencing or deportation was determined .
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The Cuban government eventually closed the Mariel to the Cubans. The Mariel boatlift ended in the same chaotic manner in which it started in. With Fidel Castro's instruction on September 26, 1980, that boats waiting to pick up relatives in Mariel Harbor returned home empty (Unzueta,1989). In final negotiations between the United States and the Cuban officials, Cuban government advised the United States of an additional 600 Cubans that had been stranded by the abrupt closure of Mariel, and requested they be cleared for admission into the United States. The U.S. accepted the Cuban government's request and agreed to bring these Cubans to Miami, after careful screening by U.S. authorities in Havana. These individuals were granted full "refugee status," they are not classified as entrants.( Unzueta,1989)
Official estimates that at least 90,000 Mariel refugees stayed in the Dade county area.. Despite resettlement activities aimed at relocating refugees out of this area, it is anticipated that many have not left Dade County and many, resettled out of the State of Florida, have turned to it.( Unzueta,1989)
Official estimates that at least 90,000 Mariel refugees stayed in the Dade county area.. Despite resettlement activities aimed at relocating refugees out of this area, it is anticipated that many have not left Dade County and many, resettled out of the State of Florida, have turned to it.( Unzueta,1989)