The Cuban Exodus

ABSTRACT: On April 1, 1980, six Cubans seeking asylum crashed a city bus through the gates of the Peruvian embassy in Havana. The Cuban embassy security detail tried to stop the van but failed, inadvertently killing one of their own in the crossfire. The Peruvian government refused to return the refugees to the Cuban government. Fidel Castro tried to strongarm them by removing the security detail, but this proved to be a grave miscalculation: thousands more raced into the embassy to claim asylum, turning what was initially a minor scandal into a major international event. After an extended siege, the Cuban government resolved the situation by allowing those unhappy with life on the island to leave via the port of Mariel. Ferried by an improvised private fleet of boats, mostly from Florida, around 125,000 Cubans left the island over the subsequent months.