Angry Castro Threatens to Let Cubans Leave
Cuban President Fidel Castro threatened Friday to let Cubans leave without restriction for the first time since the 1980 Mariel exodus allowed about 120,000 Cubans to come to the United States.
In an angry reaction to disturbances in Havana, Castro said Cuba could not continue to stop people from leaving while Washington encouraged them to leave illegally.
Castro said hijackers killed two police officers while trying to seize a ferryboat to flee Thursday night. Communist Party militants clashed Friday with protesters who looted some shops.
The riots followed at least three hijackings in the last 10 days of ferries by Cubans seeking to flee to the United States. The U.S. Coast Guard intercepted a U.S.-bound ferry hijacked Wednesday with 190 aboard; 76 asked to return home.
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