Mariel boatlift
 |
Cuban refugees arriving in crowded boats during the Mariel Boatlift crisis. |
The
Mariel boatlift was a mass movement of defectors who departed for the United States from
Cuba's
Mariel Harbor between
April 15 and
October 31,
1980.
Fidel Castro's communist
Cuban government used it as a mean to be rid of the 'undesirables' of the society, such as criminals and mental patients. According to the
United States Department of Justice, of the 125,000 refugees arrived via the boatlift, over 25,000 had criminal records that would subject them to similar prosecution and punishment in US under American law.
The Cuban government eventually closed the harbour 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. Many of the vessels were 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, and in all, there were around 25,000 out of the 125,000 had the criminal records with the same crimes that would subject them to the prosecution and punishment in US. Another 25,000 had some mental, psychological, and psychiatric problems, but it was generally agreed that this was the result of communist persecution. It was discovered, however, that many of these 25,000 were mental patients released from
mental hospitals, and the Cuban government was using the boatlift to be rid of them. The vast majority, however, belonged to neither of these groups.
The Mariel boatlift is depicted in the 1983 film
Scarface and in the 2000 film
Before Night Falls.
* The
Camarioca Boatlift of 1965.
*
Mirta Ojito, a newspaper reporter who is a Marielito.
*
Cuba-United States relations*Larzelere, Alex.
The 1980 Cuban Boatlift. (Washington DC: National Defense University Press): 1988.
*
Mariel Boatlift on globalsecurity.org.
*
Memories of Mariel: 20 Years Later.*
Scarface 1983 movie*
Six-year study of Mariel refugees
