Fleeing Cuba
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"Cuban American Exiles leaving Cuba."
http://www.cuba-junky.com/cuba/exiles.html
In 1959, Fidel Castro took over the government of Cuba. Many Cubans feared this would not be good. Soon, Cuba aligned itself with the Communist U.S.S.R. Over one million Cubans immigrated to the U.S. in the 1960's and 1970's. Many Cubans feared they would lose control of their lives under Castro's rule. They feared they would be persecuted for their political beliefs. They were afraid they’d lose their possessions. Even worse, they were feared they would have to give control of their children to the government (Hutchison). The first of these recent migrations began immediately after Castro's victory and continued until the U.S. government imposed blockade of Cuba at the time of the Cuban missile crisis. The first to leave were supporters of Batista(Fulgencio Batista President of Cuba). They were later joined by others who had not been prominent Batista allies but who nonetheless opposed Castro's socialist government. Before the U.S government imposed its blockade, almost 250,000 Cubans had left Cuba for the United States ("Significant Immigration Waves").