Balseros ("rafters", from the Spanish ''balsa'' "

raft A raft is any flat structure for support or transportation over water. It is usually of basic design, characterized by the absence of a hull. Rafts are usually kept afloat by using any combination of buoyant materials such as wood, sealed barre ...

") were boat people who emigrated without formal documentation in self constructed or precarious vessels from

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

to neighboring states including

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Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

, the

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and, most commonly, the

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since the 1994 Balsero crisis and during the wet feet, dry feet policy.

History

1994 Cuban rafter crisis

The August 1994 Cuban rafter crisis was the fourth wave of Cuban immigration following Castro's rise to power. The 1994 Balseros Crisis was ended by the agreement of the wet feet, dry feet policy between

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

and

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...

Wet feet, dry feet policy

After 1994, balseros continued to arrive in the United States from Cuba. In the 2015 fiscal year, 4,473 balseros attempted to come to the United States. In fiscal year 2016, the number was 7,411. In January 2017, the wet feet, dry feet policy came to an end, and now any balsero can be subject to deportation. Shortly before the policy ended, the U.S. Coast Guard noticed a spike in balseros attempting to reach the United States.

After 2017

Since the end of the wet feet, dry feet policy in 2017, fewer balseros attempted to make the journey to the United States. Some still continue to come with less legal support. If they manage to arrive in Florida the only legal way to remain is to apply for political asylum.

Emigration

Often the boats created are unsafe, and utilize engines not often used for boats such as lawnmower engines. Of people who choose to emigrate this way, some are captured by Cuban authorities, others arrive safely outside Cuba, some are intercepted by United States authorities and given medical care, then returned to Cuba, while others may be lost at sea and their deaths unknown and unreported.

Deaths

It is estimated that 16,000 to 100,000 Balseros perished at sea in their flight from Cuba. Any failed attempt to cross the sea by raft can end in

drowning Drowning is a type of Asphyxia, suffocation induced by the submersion of the mouth and nose in a liquid. Submersion injury refers to both drowning and near-miss incidents. Most instances of fatal drowning occur alone or in situations where othe ...

. The advent of mobile phones, with GPS, and those that use satellite connection, has increased the chance survival, because they allow users to call through a satellite to ask for help, even when at sea far from the coast.

References

External links

* University of Miami's site
The Cuban Rafter Phenomenon: A Unique Sea Exodus
{{Authority control Cuban-American history Cuba–United States relations Immigration to the United States Rafting Cuban refugees