Today in History

April 20, 1980

The Mariel Boatlift

On April 20, 1980, Cuba's Fidel Castro unexpectedly announced that any Cuban desiring to emigrate to the U.S. could do so. At the port of Mariel west of Havana, boats were made available and 125,000 Cubans pointed their small craft northward to Miami. For weeks prior, political dissent had been running high in Havana. The embassies of several countries had been swamped with Cubans seeking political asylum from the weak Cuban economy. 1,700 boats filled with Cubans were now headed to Miami. The United States Coast Guard was not capable of handling the onslaught. Many of the small Cuban craft were not seaworthy and were overloaded. Castro also used the episode as a way to empty his jails and mental wards to mix in with the legitimate refugees. In October 1980, the U.S. and Cuban governments reached an accord and ended the mass exodus from Cuba.

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