NCJ Number
155098
Date Published
1995
Length
240 pages
Annotation
Based on both interviews and printed sources, this volume details the background and history of the prison riots involving the Mariel Cubans and their implications both for the control and negotiation of prison riots and for United States policy toward Cuba.
Abstract
As a result of an immigration agreement between Fidel Castro and the United States, a mass emigration to the United States began from the Port of Mariel on April 20, 1980. More than 120,000 Cubans came to the United States. The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) initially welcomed the Cubans, but soon began to conclude that Castro was using the agreement to send hard-core criminals and mentally ill persons to the United States. As a result, several thousand Cubans were detained without due process at the discretion of the INS. After 7 years of incarceration at Federal prisons in Oakdale, La., Atlanta, Ga., and elsewhere, the detainees, believing that they would be deported to Cuba, revolted. The sieges lasted nearly 2 weeks. Many inmates were subsequently transferred to the maximum- security Federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Ind. As part of the negotiated settlement to the riots, each inmate was guaranteed a full, fair, and equitable review to determine eligibility for release. The discussion focuses on political corruption, human rights violations, and administrative mistakes and concludes that United States policy toward Cuba and the handling of prison riots both need to change. Chronology, chapter reference notes, index, and over 200 references (Publisher summary modified)