![Carnival_Liberty_Cuban_Refugees](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Carnival_Liberty_Cuban_Refugees.JPG)
Cuban boat people mainly refers to
refugees who flee
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
by boat and ship to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
.
History
Migrants from Cuba to the United States since the time
Fidel Castro rose to power under a
Communist regime, have strongly influenced U.S foreign policy concerns through special humanitarian provisions of the law, which has led to various public sentiments.
First boat arrivals, 1961–1965
The first major wave of Cuban boat people came after the failure of the
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs Invasion (, sometimes called ''Invasión de Playa Girón'' or ''Batalla de Playa Girón'' after the Playa Girón) was a failed military landing operation on the southwestern coast of Cuba in 1961 by Cuban exiles, covertly fin ...
and the
Cuban Missile Crisis, which ended a "
temporary exile status" period of commercial air travel between the United States and Cuba, which was positively received by the American public. This had seen a score of roughly 125,000 Cuban exiles reach U.S. soil that were to return upon an overthrown Castro regime that never happened.
During this time, the
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...
would make no attempt to turn back undocumented Cubans who were usually arriving in small boats.
Afterwards, Cubans who wished to come to the United States, would have to do so ''illegally'' by crossing the
Florida Straits
The Straits of Florida, Florida Straits, or Florida Strait ( es, Estrecho de Florida) is a strait located south-southeast of the North American mainland, generally accepted to be between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, and between th ...
, or travel to other countries. Between 1962 and 1965 around 6,700 Cubans arrived in Florida in makeshift boats and other vessels. Emigrants were not given a process of migration until the
Camarioca boatlift in 1965.
"Marielitos" (1973–1980)
![Two boats during Mariel Boatlift (7164184055) (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Two_boats_during_Mariel_Boatlift_%287164184055%29_%28cropped%29.jpg)
As
relations with Cuba slowly and steadily improved, a foreign policy that enacted a migration intervention to begin a 7-year program of passages called the
Mariel boatlift
The Mariel boatlift () was a mass emigration of Cubans who traveled from Cuba's Mariel Harbor to the United States between 15 April and 31 October 1980. The term "" (plural "Marielitos") is used to refer to these refugees in both Spanish and E ...
, which was perceived to 'aid Cuba at ridding itself of undesirables', was met with little public support. After stages of these initial trips, Vice President
Walter Mondale
Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale (January 5, 1928 – April 19, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 42nd vice president of the United States from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. A U.S. senator from Minnesota ...
of the
Carter administration served to justify this political position by stating there "is no better proof of the failure of Castro's
revolution
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
than the dramatic exodus which is currently taking place."
There was a growing stigma that surrounded ''marielitos'' as they were not viewed as romantically as the initial exiles. Even though President
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...
welcomed migrants in with open arms,
it was not well received, as the image of a ''criminal'' grew rampant among the public eye, even though it were only about 10-20% of them. Castro had called these people the ''escoria'' ("scum") of his country: the "homosexuals, drug addicts, and gambling addicts".
"Balseros" (1993–1995)
After years of decline since the Mariel boatlift, a few thousand Cuban boat people had made their way to the U.S. in 1993 after a rise from a few hundred in 1989. After
riots ensued in
Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. after threatening speeches made by Castro in 1994, he announced that any Cuban who wished to leave the island could. Around 35,000 rafters left the island after the announcement and 40,000 Cubans in total were intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard that year.
U.S. President Bill Clinton announced that any rafters intercepted at sea would be detained
at the
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base ( es, Base Naval de la Bahía de Guantánamo), officially known as Naval Station Guantanamo Bay or NSGB, (also called GTMO, pronounced Gitmo as jargon by members of the U.S. military) is a United States military bas ...
. Around 31,000 rafters would be detained at the base, which became known as the
Balsero crisis.
These "Balseros" ( es, rafters) as these boat people were known during this time, were known to wash up to shore at the Floridian coast on any conceivable thing that could float such as on wooden rafts or truck tires.
Victims of "13 de Marzo" v. Cuba
A complaint was filed with the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on July 19, 1994 regarding an old
tugboat
A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...
with 72 people on board, who were attempting to flee Cuba hours before dawn on July 13
994
Year 994 ( CMXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* September 15 – Battle of the Orontes: Fatimid forces, under Turkish gener ...
who were attacked with pressurized water hose equipment just 7 miles off the coast of Cuba by 4 boats organized by the Cuban State. The boat named ''13 de Marzo'', eventually sank with a death toll of 41, which included 10 minors after the cries of women and children for it to stop were in vain.
The Cuban government argued that 13 de Marzo was stolen at a dock and that authorities were attempting to intercept it. Days following the tragedy, the Cuban government were requested to recover the bodies from the bottom of the sea but declined citing the lack of experienced divers. Instead, a
nonprofit organization
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
named ''Hermanos al Rescate'' (
Brothers to the Rescue
Brothers to the Rescue ( es, Hermanos al Rescate) is a Miami-based activist nonprofit organization headed by José Basulto. Formed by Cuban exiles, the group is widely known for its opposition to the Cuban government and its former leader Fidel Ca ...
), whose mission is to rescue boat people attempting to leave Cuba, made a request to the Cuban government to recover these bodies themselves but were denied.
Wet feet, dry feet policy
In an attempt to control the influx of boat people, the
Clinton administration agreed to grant 20,000 visas annually for Cubans who wished asylum, which became known as the
wet feet, dry feet policy
The wet feet, dry feet policy or wet foot, dry foot policy was the name given to a former interpretation of the 1995 revision of the application of the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 that essentially says that anyone who emigrated from Cuba and en ...
.
End of an Era
Fearing that the end of the wet feet, dry feet policy was near after an announcement by
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
in December 2014 regarding possible changes to the
Cuban Adjustment Act
The Cuban Adjustment Act (in Spanish, Ley de Ajuste Cubano), Public Law 89-732, is a United States federal law enacted on November 2, 1966. Passed by the 89th United States Congress and signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson, the law applies ...
, there was an increased concern by the U.S. Coast Guard about a possible spike in boat people, which they had intercepted an increased 117% more Cubans in 2014 than the previous year.
In 2017, the wet feet, dry feet policy finally came to an end. Fewer Cubans attempted to make the journey to the United States. Those who manage to arrive in Florida would only be able to remain legally by applying for political asylum.
See also
*
Haitian boat people
References
External links
*Constitutional Rights Foundation (CRF)
Educating About Immigration: History Lesson 9: Refugees from the Caribbean: Cuban and Haiti "Boat People"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuban boat people
Cuban-American history
Cuba–United States relations
Cuban diaspora
Cuban exiles
Cuban refugees
Migrant crises
Refugees in the United States