Key moments in Cuban emigration

Key moments in Cuban emigration
By The Associated Press | Associated Press – 21 hrs ago

More than 1 million people of Cuban descent live in the United States
and thousands more make their homes in Europe or Latin America. The
elimination of exit visas announced Tuesday could swell those numbers.
Some key moments in Cuban emigration:

— January 1959: Rebels led by Fidel Castro take power. Many loyalists of
dictator Fulgencio Batista flee immediately, followed by an increasing
stream of other Cubans opposed to the new government's swing toward
socialism.

— 1960-1962: "Pedro Pan" flights organized by the Roman Catholic Church
bring 14,000 Cuban children to the United States so they don't fall
under the control of communist ideology. Some never see their parents again.

— April 1961: President John F. Kennedy expands a program that helps
arriving Cubans settle in the U.S. Castro declares Cuba socialist. U.S.
organizes failed Bay of Pigs invasion.

— December 1961: Cuba begins requiring its citizens to get exit visas to
travel abroad. Those who try to leave without permission face possible
imprisonment.

— September 1965: Castro says the port of Camarioca near Varadero is
open for all those trying to reach "the Yankee paradise," though those
leaving will forfeit their property. The U.S. Coast Guard says nearly
3,000 leave before program is shut down that November.

— December 1965: Castro allows regular, U.S.-sponsored "Liberty Flights"
that carry some 260,000 Cubans to the U.S. before President Richard
Nixon halts the program in 1973.

— November 1966: Cuban Adjustment Act is passed to allow even illegal
immigrants from Cuba to remain in United States.

— April 1980: Castro opens port of Mariel west of Havana for all Cubans
who wish to leave. More than 125,000 rush by sea to the U.S. including
thousands of former convicts, causing an immigration crisis in the
United States. In June, President Jimmy Carter announces that those
transporting migrants will face punishment. The opening is closed in
September.

— August 1994: Castro declares he will not stop Cubans trying to leave;
some 40,000 take to sea heading for United States. Some reach Florida,
some are stopped by the U.S. Coast Guard. Some die.

— September 1994: After talks to end the rafter crisis, Cuban officials
agree to curb the flow of refugees and promises not to prosecute or
discriminate against those returned by the United States. The U.S.
agrees to give at least 20,000 legal immigrant visas a year to Cubans,
making it easier to arrive legally. It also says most Cubans caught at
sea will be returned to Cuba while those who reach U.S. shores can stay.

— October 2012: Cuba announces it will no longer demand exit visas for
travel abroad starting in January.

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