The Mariel Boatlift was a mass exodus of Cubans from Mariel Port on the island of Cuba to Florida between April and November 1980. Departure by boat was permitted by the Castro government after several years of improving relations between Cuba and the United States under President Jimmy Carter, a period that coincided with a severe downturn in the Cuban economy. Perhaps as many as 125,000 Cubans made the journey to Florida on overcrowded craft of varying size and seaworthiness. Political opinion in the United States began to turn ...