The 1980s

This decade started out with a bombshell for the United States: the Mariel boatlift. In April, 1980, a group of six Cuban dissenters drove to the Peruvian Embassy in Havana with the purpose of seeking asylum; when the bus they had commandeered headed for the embassy gates and accelerated, the Cubans officially guarding the embassy opened fire on the bus, and a ricocheting bullet hit and killed one of the guards. The Peruvians refused to turn the dissenters over to the Cuban authorities, whereupon several thousand Cubans descended on the embassy. Castro responded by opening up the Mariel port, west of Havana, relaxing restrictions on emigration to the point that many felt free to leave, and "deporting," as we mentioned earlier, a sizable number of people he felt were undesirable. (It is reported that one of the reasons Castro opened the Mariel port was his irritation at Jimmy Carter's criticism of the Cuban government's restrictive policy toward emigration.) Soon 120,000 undocumented Cubans arrived in Florida, placing tremendous strain on U.S. facilities. It wasn't until four years later, in 1984, that Cuba and the U.S. discussed the issue: As a result of these discussions, some of the Mariel entrants were returned to Cuba, and both countries agreed that a ceiling numberor quotaof 20,000 Cubans would be allowed to emigrate legally to the United States each year. This marked the first time that an immigration agreement was struck between the countries.

The 1985 establishment of Radio Martí—a U.S. government-sponsored radio station, separate from the Voice of America, broadcasting into Cuba—further strained U.S.­Cuba relations. Castro immediately suspended the immigration agreement, and announced that Cuban-Americans would no longer be allowed to visit Cuba. The United States responded by barring any Cubans from visiting the United States. There were other demonstrations of ill will on both sides, but in 1987 the two countries restored the immigration agreement, and met to discuss the war in Angola. (Castro's support for the Marxist government in Angola had been a thorn in the U.S.'s side for some time.)

The late 1980s brought remarkable changes—glasnost and perestroika—to the Soviet Union. Castro declared that Cuba would remain a socialist state and would not institute the kinds of changes going on in the Soviet Union, thereby loosening somewhat the ties between Cuba and the Soviet Union. The government also engaged in some experimentation with economic liberalism, mostly along the lines of peasant markets in which farmers were allowed to sell their produce directly to consumers.

At the same time, there was much discussion in the United States about normalizing relations with Cuba. As the fear of communism lessened, so did one of the rationales for trying to isolate Cuba.

The 1990s

Since 1961, the Soviet Union had bought the major portion of the Cuban sugar crop, usually at prices favorable to Cuba. In addition, Soviet aid to Cuba amounted to several billions of dollars annually. When the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, so did the preferential trade agreements and technical support to Cuba. Moreover, the new Russian anxiety to obtain aid from the United States, coupled with an intensification of anti-Castro sentiment in the United States as President Bush continued Reagan's hard-line stand, worked together to worsen the situation in Cuba. In 1992, the United States tightened the economic embargo by forbidding foreign subsidiaries of American companies to trade with Cuba, and in 1993 Russia withdrew 3,000 troops from Cuba.

All this had a predictably devastating effect on the Cuban economy, which is estimated to have shrunk by as much as one third to one half since 1991. Castro announced a "special period in peacetime" to address the situation, and introduced stricter food rationing, energy conservation, a reduction in public services, and a call to the people to rededicate themselves to the principles of the revolution. In additional attempts to bolster the economy, the government passed laws to legalize possession of dollars, allowed foreign investment in state-controlled enterprises, and allowed foreigners to own property in joint ventures. Barriers to tourism were also lifted, to improve the flow of hard currency.

Even with these measures, the shortages worsened, and discontent grew in proportion to the scarcity of electrical power, gasoline, and food. Life was especially difficult for young Cubans, who had no personal knowledge of the time before the revolution and therefore had nothing to compare the current hardships with. Although most Cubans in Cuba continued publicly to support their government, there was a growing desire for a free and public debate on the country's future, and for more personal freedoms including the right to travel.

As frustration increased, a growing number of Cubans decided to leave: Three times over a period of two weeks in the summer of 1994, ferries crossing the Bay of Havana were hijacked in attempts to leave Cuba.

Castro's response was similar to the response that led to the Mariel boatlift: He made it easier for the discontents to leave. Many parts of the Cuban coast were no longer patrolled, and thousands began to build rafts and boats out of any available material: inner tubes, old tires, styrofoam. They then set out for Florida, confident that they would be found and admitted to the United States. About 35,000 Cubans attempted to enter the United States in this manner.

For the first time in history, however, the U.S. administration refused entrance: Attorney General Janet Reno, using her discretionary powers (and, in the opinion of some, exceeding her authority), announced that those who entered without documents would be detained indefinitely at Guantánamo Bay Naval Station. The rafters continued to take to the sea, to be picked up by U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships and carried around the island to Guantánamo.

After several days of negotiations in September, an agreement was reached whereby Castro would stop the departure of boats and rafts, and the U.S. quota of 20,000 Cuban immigrants per year would be reinstated. Cubans wishing to immigrate would be required to apply at the U.S. Interests Section office in Havana, and those interned at Guantánamo would have to return to Havana to apply and wait.

The Administration subsequently reversed itself on the issue of the Cubans at Guantánamo. In May, 1995, the Attorney General announced that all Cubans at Guantánamo would be allowed to enter the United States except those with criminal histories. This decision was linked to a new agreement with Cuba that calls for the United States to interdict all future rafters and return them to Cuba after an interview to determine whether they are in genuine need of protection. Those returned to Cuba are told that they can apply for refugee status through the U.S. interests section in Havana. As of March 1996, 30,983 Cubans who were taken to Guantánamo had entered the United States as parolees. The quota of 20,000 immigrant visas had been granted, and many of the visa holders had also arrived.

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