INTRODUCTION (Video version)

In May 1980, Fidel Castro opened the harbor at Mariel, Cuba, with the apparent intention of letting some of his people join their relations in the United States. Within seventy-two hours, 3,000 U.S. boats were heading for Cuba. It soon became evident that Castro was forcing the boat owners to carry back with them not only their relations, but the dregs of his jails. Of the 125,000 refugees that landed in Florida, an estimated 25,000 had criminal records.

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INTRODUCTION (Televised version)

In April 1980, Fidel Castro opened the harbor at Mariel, Cuba, allowing an estimated 125,000 people to emigrate to the United States. This group of refugees included a very small number of violent criminals released from Castro's jails. This movie is a fictitous account of one of those Mariel criminals who arrived in Miami that year.

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CASTRO'S WORDS

...they are unwilling to adapt to the spirit of our revolution...
We don't want them! We don't need them!

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UPI PRESS RELEASE

MIAMI, FLORIDA, AUGUST 11, 1980 (UPI)
HUNDREDS OF CUBAN REFUGEES BEGAN RIOTING THIS MORNING AT A DETENTION CENTER SITUATED UNDER INTERSTATE 95 IN NORTH MIAMI, BURNING TENTS AND ATTACKING IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION GUARDS WITH PIPES, STICKS, AND ROCKS...

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