- by Bill Monahan

A response to a comment on this article.

There were two main exoduses from Cuba. The first happened in the 1960's, not long after the revolution and it consisted of Catholic families sending their unaccompanied children to Florida so that they could be raised in Catholicism. They were aided by Catholics in Florida. They were afraid of Communism outlawing Catholicism. And although the post-revolutionary state did outlaw the organized church, they did not persecute Catholics who continued to practice their faith individually and in private gatherings. Just like Santeria, the native Cuban religion, the revolutionaries considered organized religion to be against the welfare of the state, but allowed individual practice to continue. In recent years, perceiving the threat to Communism from the church to be no longer a factor, churches in Cuba were allowed to open once more and were immediately filled with parishoners. The second main exodus was called the Mariel Boatlift, and it happened in 1980 at a time when Cuba, suffering under the U.S. blockade, was facing severe economic difficulties. Castro urged Cubans to work together "hasta siempre" (until forever) to save their revolution, but many wanted to leave the suffering and join instead the wealth of their main oppressor, the U.S. A truck with four Cubans entered the Peruvian embassy asking for asylum. When the embassy didn't turn them away, Castro was angered and removed security from the embassy. Within a week there were 10,000 Cubans seeking asylum there, looking for safe passage to the U.S. Castro said, "OK then, leave," and allowed boats from Florida to dock at the port of Mariel to carry the disenchanted Cubans to the land of the free. Castro took advantage of the opportunity to empty the prisons and hospitals of criminals and lunatics and give them a free ride to the U.S. They made up about 20% of the exodus which totaled about 125,000 before the U.S. put a stop to it. The infection of crime and mental illness among the regugees created a real problem for Miami in subsequent years, but the majority of the migrants were people seeking economic opportunity rather than freedom from oppression. Cubans who remained referred to the migrants as "gusanos", worms, for abandoning the revolution. Among the gusanos was Cuban singer Celia Cruz who became very famous in the U.S. but whose name is unknown in Cuba. Since then Castro has allowed anyone who wishes to leave to do so, but the economic conditions make it difficult for anyone to manage it.