Florida and the Mariel Boatlift of 1980: The First Twenty Days

10. Saturday, April 26 - And the Boatlift is On

10 Saturday, April 26—And the Boatlift Is On Wash­ing­ton, D.C. Unable to continue avoiding the situation, the White House convened its first high-­level meeting April 26, chaired by Vice President Walter Mondale, to discuss options for stopping the boatlift. At the meeting it was decided to: 1. Allow the return of boats carrying Cubans and emphasize refugee processing once they landed in the United States. 2. Choose not to press for an orderly departure program with Cuba, as the Johnson administration had done with the Camarioca Boatlift. 3. Attempt to co-­ opt or dissuade Cuban Ameri­ cans from participating in the boatlift. 4. Pursue a policy of modest law enforcement against the Mariel transporters . 5. Attempt to mobilize international pressure to stop the boatlift. The government found itself in a difficult position. To welcome and regu­ larize the flow of Cubans would be a violation of the Refugee Act, creating problems with Haitian refugees. But those who attended the meeting agreed that trying to interdict boats at sea was illegal and very dangerous. Lives would certainly be lost in any at-­ sea interception efforts. Therefore, if the boats were not stopped, the United States would essentially allow them to land. In other words, the boatlift was on. The Coast Guard was told to direct all boatloads to land in designated ports 72 • Chapter 10 so Cubans could be processed. (Guantánamo exercises planned for this time were canceled so that ships and men would be available for boatlift assistance.1 ) Meanwhile, displeased with the lack of action, Cuban Ameri­ can community leaders left a meeting with State Department officials and told reporters that the government lacked a coherent policy for dealing with the refugees (Key West Citizen 1980f). Tallahassee, Florida Saturday morning, Governor Bob Graham conducted a face-­ to-­ face refugee briefing with Villella and Burke, Deputy Chief of Staff Dave Pingree, HRS secretary Alvin Taylor, Chief of Staff Garry Smith, Assistant General Counsel Frank Scruggs, and officer for Latin America in the Bureau of Refugee Affairs Phil Chicola. Villella reported that as of that date, about 1,500 to 1,600 Cuban refugees had arrived, and Chicola reiterated the federal government’s policies—that Cuban and Haitian refugee issues were discrete and the United States opposed flotillas. They hadn’t spoken with representatives in D.C. yet, so their information was not up-­ to-­ date. In a later conversation with Dade County Manager Merritt Stierheim, the governor learned that a much-­ needed Cuban refugee center had been established at the youth fair. Following their meeting with the governor, Burke and Villella prepared to travel to Key West, where the two would be briefed and set up operations at the chamber. “I brought in John Burke, who I had worked with on other state disasters, and Bob Wilkerson,” Villella said. “The three of us ran the whole thing” (Villella 1990). Villella and Burke reported to Key West, where Burke ran the makeshift prison and the hospital and Villella oversaw everything else. Wilkerson worked as facilitator for the State Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Tallahassee. “What became my role was twofold,” Wilkerson explained. “I was sort of the bridge between what was going on in the field and what we were trying to get the federal government to do, then organizing resources to go to Miami or to Key West to deal with that” (Wilkerson journal, April 26, 1980). Wilkerson activated the EOC and initiated transportation arrangements. Key West, Florida In the meantime, it was obvious that the Key West Latin Chamber of Commerce of the Lower Keys, located in the old USO building at Southard and White- And the Boatlift Is On • 73 head Streets, had succeeded in organizing the Cuban community in preparation for the refugee influx. Approximately 150 volunteers kept the facility open 24 hours a day, rotating among three shifts. These volunteers fed the newly arrived refugees, arranged transportation to Miami for further processing, and tried to make the refugees feel welcome. The Cuban community donated clothing and food. Arturo Cobo, assisted by his wife, Aleida, assumed leadership of the volunteers. José Espinola, a descendant of Cubans who had immigrated to St. Augustine in 1768, acted as coordinator of the refugee program for the Latin Chamber of Commerce of the Lower Keys. Espinola, a 64-­ year-­ old retired school teacher, had started a refugee aid program about five months prior...