May 25, 2022 · In the summer of 1994, Gustavo Martínez attempted to flee his native Cuba for Miami on the tugboat 13 de Marzo, named after a seminal date in the Cuban Revolution. Martínez was making the...

Mar 1, 2016 · Without the money or legal ability to fly out, however, many have risked their lives by floating on man-made rafts to Florida, Mexico and elsewhere. Thousands of these raft people—or “balseros”—are...

During the 1994 Crisis, tens of thousands of Cubans fled the island by boat and raft for Florida. People who immigrate this way are often called balseros , or rafters. Why might people risk their lives by undertaking this dangerous journey?

In the summer of 1994, several Cubans began breaking into consulates and the homes of ambassadors as well as hijacking boats in hopes of leaving the country. After the Maleconazo riots, Fidel Castro announced that any Cubans who wished to leave the island could.

Nov 12, 2014 · Men, women, and children packed into small boats and makeshift rafts and set off for Florida in the largest exodus from Cuba since the 1980 Mariel Boatlift.

Feb 2, 2015 · HAVANA TIMES — Under the cloak of darkness along the northern coast of Cuba small groups of men, women and children climb into their makeshift homemade boat, called Cuban Chugs as friends and family wish them luck and shove them off to sea.

Jul 23, 2018 · In this digital archive you can explore the experiences of tens of thousands of citizens who left Cuba in small boats, homemade rafts and other unusual craft. Currently the site focuses on those who precipitated and participated in …

This page is dedicated to the ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit of the various Cuban refugees who have attempted to sail to the United States on homemade vessels cleverly crafted from old American cars. Unfortunately, often they have been caught before reaching American soil, and returned to Cuba. Here's to you, floating Cubans!

Nov 11, 2014 · Cuba lifted restrictions on rafters in 1994, opening the flood gates for anyone who wanted to leave the communist-led island. Some 31,000 Cubans were detained at sea by US ships that summer in the largest exodus since the 1980 Mariel boatlift, which brought 120,000 Cubans to Miami.

Mar 26, 2025 · In Cuba, few fishing boats exist and with strict controls around acquiring them Cuban fishermen have been building their own. The vessels are named corchos, which translates to cork in English, are makeshift rafts have become a part of the capital’s seascape. (AP video shot by Ariel Fernández, Milexsy Duran and Ramón Espinosa)