Part of Aftermath of the Cuban Revolution | |
![]() Cuba is 90 miles (140 kilometres) south of Florida in the United States, the destination many exiles head towards. | |
Date | 1959 – present |
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Location | ![]() |
Cause | |
Outcome | Waves of emigration |
History of Cuba |
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Governorate of Cuba (1511–1519) |
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Viceroyalty of New Spain (1535–1821) |
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Captaincy General of Cuba (1607–1898) |
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US Military Government (1898–1902) |
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Republic of Cuba (1902–1959) |
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Republic of Cuba (1959–) |
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Timeline |
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Topical |
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The Cuban exodus is the mass emigration of Cubans from the island of Cuba after the Cuban Revolution of 1959. Throughout the exodus, millions of Cubans from diverse social positions within Cuban society emigrated within various emigration waves, due to political repression and disillusionment with life in Cuba.[1][2][3]
The first wave of emigration occurred directly after the revolution, followed by the Freedom Flights from 1965 to 1973. This was followed by the 1980 Mariel boatlift and after 1994 the flight of balseros emigrating by raft. During the Cuban exile many refugees were granted special legal status by the US government, but these privileges began to be slowly removed in the 2010s by then-president Barack Obama.[4]
The emigrants in the exodus known as "Cuban exiles" have come from various backgrounds in Cuban society, often reflected in the wave of emigration they participated in. Exiles have constructed Cuban communities that continue to preserve Cuban culture abroad, as well as garnering political influence outside Cuba.[5] The majority of the 1,172,899 current Cuban exiles living in the United States live in Florida (917,033 in 2014), mainly in Miami-Dade County, where more than a third of the population is Cuban or of Cuban descent. Other exiles have relocated to form substantial Cuban communities in New York City (16,416), Louisville, KY (6,662), Houston, TX (6,233), Los Angeles (6,056), Union City, NJ (4,970) and others.[6]