| In 1980, some 125,000 Cuban refugees poured into the United States during the so-called Mariel Boatlift, Fidel Castro's invitation to Cuban Americans to travel to Mariel Harbor and take any of their friends and relatives to the United States. Although an apparent sign of relaxed restrictions, it later became evident that the event was orchestrated to purge Cuba of political dissidents. |
[U.S. Coast Guard] |
