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Thread: Throughout the last few days, I’ve seen various disturbing, racist tweets in reference to “Miami Cubans”. A lot of these are based on an extremely unfair characterization of the Cuban exile community in @BillyCorben ‘s HBO documentary 537 votes.
It is accurate that the community was outraged over the way the Clinton Administration handled the Elian Gonzalez situation. And yes, how it was handled cost Al Gore key votes. But there are key events that took please in the preceding years that the film fails to mention.
The 1990s was known as the “Special Period” in Cuba, a collapse of a Cuban economy reliant on the USSR. Food rationing, 40% drop in GDP and thousands being jailed by the Castro dictatorship annually.
On July 13, 1994, 72 Cubans attempted to escape using a tugboat. The boat set sail at approximately 3:00 AM that fateful morning, hoping to reach U.S. shores to begin a new life in a free society. Just as the tugboat cleared the harbor and was ~ 10 miles offshore...
Three Cuban regime ships chased down and sprayed high-pressure water at the boat. The force of the water cannons ripped children from their mothers’ arms…others were dragged along the rail into the ocean. In the end, of the 72 onboard, 41 drowned, including 10 children.
Throughout the same time, roughly 75,000-120,000 (estimates vary) Cubans attempted to flee the island on rafts. Car Tires, inter-tubes, wood pallets. Basically anything that could float was being used by thousands to attempt reaching freedom. This overwhelmed the U.S. Coast Guard
A humanitarian organization, Brothers to the Rescue, began to fly planes in the Florida Straits to spot and assist rafters. On February 24, 1996, Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandre, Mario de la Peña, and Pablo Morales were flying a mission.
Flying in international waters, two Cuban Air-Force jets fired on Brothers to the Rescue planes, killing the four pilots. The disturbing request from the Cuban Air Force to shoot down the planes was captured on audio:
The United Nations and Inter-American Commission on Human Rights condemned the shoot down. In 2003, a Cuban General and the two fighter pilots responsible were indicted for murder, conspiracy to kill U.S. Citizens, and destruction of aircraft.
Then came Thanksgiving 1999. 15 refugees attempted escaping Cuba on a makeshift raft. Only three survived, including Elian Gonzalez. This hit home for our family. The Gonzalez family were clients of my Grandfather, who had a small jewelry business.
Everyone knows what happens next. Everyone has an opinion on if Elian should have been returned to Cuba or not. I respect all of those opinions.
@vanessathekrane does an excellent job in explaining the perspective of many in the Cuban American community: https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/the-story-of-elian-gonzalez-20-years-later-11625579
“For that, I am grateful that my parents fled Cuba so I could write this from a place of freedom — the very thing Elián's mother died for and failed to achieve for her son.”
This is a story that has always been reported with a bias against the Cuban-American community. Unfortunately, it has now led to rhetoric we have come accustomed to on this platform. So as you watch HBO’s 537, votes, please remember the stories of those heroes and martyrs.
