Cuban refugees arriving in crowded boats during the Mariel Boatlift crisis.

The Mariel boatlift was a mass exodus of refugees who departed for the United States from Cuba's Mariel Harbor between April 15 and October 31, 1980. 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. Image File history File links A boat crowded with Cuban refugees arrives in Key West, Florida, during the 1980 Mariel Boatlift. ... Image File history File links A boat crowded with Cuban refugees arrives in Key West, Florida, during the 1980 Mariel Boatlift. ... Mariel is a town and bay on the north coast of Cuba approximately 40 kilometres west of the city of Havana. ... April 15 is the 105th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (106th in leap years). ... October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 61 days remaining. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Area  Ranked 22nd  - Total 65,794 sq mi (170,451 km²)  - Width 162 miles (260 km)  - Length 497 miles (800 km)  - % water 17. ... This article is about the city in Florida. ... A Marielito is the popular name for any Cuban who arrived in the United States of America via the Mariel Boatlift in 1980. ... Fort Indiantown Gap is a census-designated place located in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. ... Fort McCoy is an active United States Army installation. ... Fort Chaffee is in the northwest Arkansas region adjacent to the city of Ft. ... Official language(s) English Capital Little Rock Largest city Little Rock Area  Ranked 29th  - Total 53,179 sq mi (137,732 km²)  - Width 239 miles (385 km)  - Length 261 miles (420 km)  - % water 2. ... Fort Chaffee is in the northwest Arkansas region adjacent to the city of Ft. ... William Jefferson Bill Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ... The presidential seal was used by President Hayes in 1880 and last modified in 1959 by adding the 50th star for Hawaii. ... James Earl Jimmy Carter, Jr. ...

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 which capsized on May 17, 1980. Coast Guard Seal The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is a military branch of the United States involved in maritime law, mariner assistance and search and rescue, among other duties of any coast guard. ... May 17 is the 137th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (138th in leap years). ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...

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. Others were discovered to be mental patients released from mental hospitals. The vast majority, however, belonged to neither of these groups. Refugee camp for Rwandans located in what is now the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo following the Rwandan Genocide A refugee camp is a camp built up by governments or NGOs (such as the ICRC) to receive refugees. ... A felony, in many common law legal systems, is the term for a very serious crime; misdemeanors are considered to be less serious. ... A psychiatric hospital (also called a mental hospital or asylum) is a hospital specializing in the treatment of persons with mental illness. ...

The Mariel boatlift is depicted in the 1983 film Scarface and in the 2000 film Before Night Falls. Scarface is a 1983 motion picture directed by Brian de Palma, written by Oliver Stone and starring Al Pacino as Tony Montana, a fictional Cuban refugee who comes to Florida in 1980 as a result of the Mariel Boatlift. ... Filmposter. ...

See also

• The Camarioca Boatlift of 1965.
• Mirta Ojito, a newspaper reporter who is a Marielito.
• Cuba-United States relations

Mirta Ojito (born circa 1960) is a Marielito and a newspaper reporter. ... Because of Cubas Marxist-Leninist government, the power of the Cuban-American lobby, especially in Florida, and Cubas support for Marxist-Leninist groups around the world, the relations between Cuba and the United States have long been very poor. ...

References

• Larzelere, Alex. The 1980 Cuban Boatlift. (Washington DC: National Defense University Press): 1988.
• Mariel Boatlift on globalsecurity.org.

External links

• Memories of Mariel: 20 Years Later.
• Scarface 1983 movie
• Six-year study of Mariel refugees