For the general history of Cubans in the United States, see Cuban immigration to the United States. For the specific history of Cubans in Miami, see Cuban migration to Miami.
Cuban exodus
Part of Aftermath of the Cuban Revolution
Cuba is 90 miles (140 kilometres) south of Florida in the United States, the destination many exiles head towards.
Date
1959 – present
Location
Cuba
Cause
Opposition to Fidel Castro, Raul Castro and Miguel Díaz-Canel
Land reform in Cuba
Special Period
Political repression
Outcome
Waves of emigration
Golden exile
Operation Peter Pan
Freedom Flights
Mariel boatlift
1994 Cuban rafter crisis
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The Cuban exodus is the mass emigration of Cubans from the island of Cuba after the Cuban Revolution of 1959. Throughout the exodus, millions of Cubans from diverse social positions within Cuban society emigrated within various emigration waves, due to political repression and disillusionment with life in Cuba.[1][2][3]
The first wave of emigration occurred directly after the revolution, followed by the Freedom Flights from 1965 to 1973. This was followed by the 1980 Mariel boatlift and after 1994 the flight of balseros emigrating by raft. During the Cuban exile many refugees were granted special legal status by the US government, but these privileges began to be slowly removed in the 2010s by then-president Barack Obama.[4]
The emigrants in the exodus known as "Cuban exiles" have come from various backgrounds in Cuban society, often reflected in the wave of emigration they participated in. Exiles have constructed Cuban communities that continue to preserve Cuban culture abroad, as well as garnering political influence outside Cuba.[5] The majority of the 1,172,899 current Cuban exiles living in the United States live in Florida (917,033 in 2014), mainly in Miami-Dade County, where more than a third of the population is Cuban or of Cuban descent. Other exiles have relocated to form substantial Cuban communities in New York City (16,416), Louisville, KY (6,662), Houston, TX (6,233), Los Angeles (6,056), Union City, NJ (4,970) and others.[6]
^Pedraza, Silvia (September 2007). Political Disaffection in Cuba's Revolution and Exodus(PDF). Cambridge University Press. S2CID 152534369. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-02-04. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
^Pedraza, Silvia (1998). "Cuba's Revolution and Exodus". The Journal of the International Institute. 5 (2). Retrieved 2021-01-30.
^Radio Broadcasting to Cuba Hearings Before the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate, Ninety-seventh Congress, Second Session · Parts 1-2. US Government Printing Office. 1983. p. 532.
^Powell, John (2005). "Cuban immigration". Encyclopedia of North American Immigration. Facts on File. pp. 68–71. ISBN 9781438110127. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
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