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13 Tuesday, April 29—A Momentary Honeymoon Key West, Florida, and Cuba As the sun rose, eight to 10 boats left the Key West port. Cuba released another 20 boats, and the Cuban Border Guard escorted boats midway from Cuba to Key West. Five thousand refugees were expected to arrive in Key West by midnight, so four National Guard armories were converted into shelters. As of 3 a.m., 1,737 boats were still in Cuba, waiting for their passengers. Although more boats continued to arrive in Key West, space was limited, so federal officials threatened to punish those attempting to airlift in refugees by seizing planes, revoking pilot licenses, and imposing fines (Tasker 1980). To complicate matters, Cuban immigration authorities sent 700 former po­ liti­ cal prisoners—500 more than usual—to the U.S. Interests Section in Havana to inquire about the status of their admission applications to the United States. In addition, unbeknownst to the U.S. government, Castro’s government began issuing letters to refugees stating they could go to the United States for up to two months and return to Cuba for their families if they obtained papers from the United States. Meanwhile, hundreds of Ameri­can boats lined up in Mariel, waiting to evacuate refugees, while Cuban patrol boats armed with guns and cannons monitored the area. Once in the port, Ameri­ cans were barely able to leave their vessels . Gasoline and food prices were astronomical. Using a phone cost $25. Most of the time, captains didn’t leave with the people for whom they were sent. Outside the harbor, boats waited for their turns to enter (Key West Citizen 1980h). Miami, Florida At approximately 6 a.m. Tuesday morning, Dr. James Howell of the Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services called Kate Dupes, who was at home trying to check on her business and preparing to sign her business lease 104 • Chapter 13 (which had been due at state offices the Friday before.) Howell requested that she and Leah Rodríguez return to Key West immediately. Upon hearing the request , Rodríguez voiced her apprehension; there appeared to be adequate staff when they left on Monday. Not only did she not want to interfere, Rodríguez felt they were needed in Hialeah at their nursing facility. Dupes called Howell back. He indicated Monday’s staff had mostly left and only a few people remained . Also, arrangements had been made for the infirmary to move to the Truman Annex. They needed help. Due to a previous engagement, Dupes was unable to go, but Rodríguez boarded a plane at 1 p.m. with a promise from Howell that she would be given full authority to perform her responsibilities of organizing and staffing the infirmaries . She was assured that a Mr. Benavides with the HRS would be her contact and all medical personnel would be made aware of her presence and authority. Key West, Florida When Rodríguez arrived at the Latin Chamber building, she could not find Benavides, but things seemed in fair order. Refugees were cared for, and there wasn’t a large queue for services. Volunteer physician Dr. Cedre (in all of the time he worked there, no one ever knew his first name) had been there for several days, assisting with processing. He said no one had informed him or his staff of the move. He left for the night, so Rodríguez, with help from the National Guard, started to move out of the Latin Chamber on her own. The plan was to move the whole operation out of the Latin Chamber. After determining space availability at the Truman Annex administration building and what the natural flow of refugees to and from the building would be, they identified space for cooking, eating, clothing, and food storage. Unfortunately,conditionsthereweredeplorable.Lightswitchessparkedwhenever they were turned on. At one point, a section of ceiling fell on a group of refugees. There was little or no running water, but standing water was everywhere . The infirmary, set up on the ground floor, was a series of three dingy rooms with one lavatory. Years of paint peeled in layers from the walls. Toilet facilities overflowed and contaminated the first floor shortly after the relocation. Acting quickly, Rodríguez ordered the cots to be moved out to the lawn. Civil Defense worker and volunteer Reggie Parro found mops, buckets, and disinfectants somewhere in the building. As he started to scrub, refugees [18.118.120.204] Project MUSE...

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