5,000 in Little Havana Protest Refugee Policy
Cuban exiles left their jobs, closed shops and poured into the streets of Little Havana on Tuesday to wave flags, honk horns and raise a racket over President Clinton’s reversal of the United States’ 35-year-old open-arms policy toward Cuban refugees.
More than 5,000 streamed down the neighborhood’s main drag, Calle Ocho, and hanged Cuban President Fidel Castro in effigy.
At Jose Marti Park, an evening rally drew about 10,000.
Marchers chanted “ Abajo Clinton! Abajo Clinton!”--Spanish for “Down with Clinton.” Under the new U.S. policy announced May 2, refugees picked up at sea are returned to Cuba.
Small fishing boats flying the Cuban flag cruised by Marti park on the Miami River and tooted their horns.
Many Cuban Americans across the city had their employers’ permission to attend the protest. Some businesses simply closed, posting handwritten signs such as “Closed for the Cuban Cause.”
About 30%, or 700,000, of Dade County’s residents are of Cuban descent.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
