Cuba is 90 miles (145 kilometres) south of Florida in the United States

The term "Cuban exile" refers to the many Cubans who have sought alternative political or economic conditions outside the island, dating back to the Ten Years' War and the struggle for Cuban independence during the 19th century. In modern times, the term refers to the large exodus of Cubans to the United States since the 1959 Cuban Revolution and in particular the wave of (now) Cuban American refugees to the U.S. during the years 1960 and 1980.

More than one million Cubans of all social classes have left the island to the United States,^[1] and to Spain, Italy, Mexico, Canada, Sweden, and other countries; however, until 1980 most exiles from Cuba were of the upper or middle classes and predominantly white.

Prominent exiles[link]

Prominent exiles have included writer José Martí, who spent many years in Spain and the United States in the 19th century raising support for Cuban independence from Spain. Fidel Castro and his brother Raúl spent nearly a year and a half in Mexico (1955–1956), after being amnestied from prison. Fidel briefly visited the United States during his tenure in exile to raise support for the Cuban revolution. Since the revolution, prominent exiled figures have included Carlos Franqui who relocated to Italy; Huber Matos, who was imprisoned by Castro's government for twenty years after resigning his governmental position in 1959 before relocating to Miami; and Guillermo Cabrera Infante the prominent Cuban writer, who relocated to the United Kingdom. Ernesto Alvero; Pinnacle Healthcare, CEO & founder (Salinas, CA via Freedom Flight). Reinaldo Cruz was one do the first Cuban rafters in August of 196

Waves of exiles to the United States[link]

The majority of the nearly 1 million current Cuban exiles living in the United States live in and around the city of Miami. Other exiles have relocated to form substantial Cuban American communities in Union City and West New York, New Jersey (known as Havana on the Hudson); Raleigh, North Carolina; Los Angeles, California; and Palm Desert, California.

Most Cuban exiles in the United States are both legally and self-described political refugees. This status allows them different treatment under US Immigration statutes than immigrants who are not categorized as political refugees. The exiles came in numerous discernible waves.

The first wave occurred after the Cuban revolution of 1959 led by Fidel Castro. A lot of the refugees came with the idea that the new government would not last long, and their stay in the US was temporary. Homes, cars, and other properties in Cuba were left with family, friends, and relatives, who would take care of them until the Castro regime would fall, however, this was promptly stopped by the Castro government, with the forced confiscation of all properties belonging to anyone leaving the country.

Between November 1960 and October 1962, over 14,000 children, mostly Catholic although some were Jewish or Protestant, ages 6 to 17 were sent to the U.S. by their parents in Operation Pedro Pan. These children were taken out under the care of the Catholic Church and placed in foster homes throughout the U.S until they could be reunited with their parents. Cubans sent their children to the U.S. in order to save them from the Communist indoctrination and forced induction of boys into the Cuban armed forces and girls into the Alphabetization Campaign.

The second wave began in 1961 amid the nationalization of educational institutions, hospitals, private land, and industrial facilities. Additionally, the Castro government began a political crackdown on the opposition either incarcerating opponents or perceived opponents or executing the same. At this point, after the Bay of Pigs Invasion, Castro had gone from a self-proclaimed non-communist freedom fighter to a self-proclaimed Marxist-Leninist.

There was a smaller wave of refugees in 1965 from the Cuban port of Camarioca. Cuban exiles from Miami brought friends and relatives to Key West by using small leisure boats. No detailed history has ever been written on the Camarioca boatlift and no exact list of refugees is known to exist.

From December 1965 to early 1973, under the Johnson and Nixon administrations, the twice daily "Freedom Flights" (Vuelos de la Libertad) from Varadero Beach to Miami were the only way to escape out of Cuba. It became the longest airlift ever to take political refugees and transported 265,297 Cubans to freedom with the help of religious and volunteer agencies. Flights were limited to immediate relatives, with a waiting period anywhere from one to two years.^[2]

Between April 15 and October 31, 1980, during the Carter administration, probably one of the most significant wave of exiles occurred during what became known as the Mariel Boatlift. The mass boatlift occurred after a number of Cubans drove a bus through the gates of the Havana Peruvian Embassy and requested asylum. One embassy guard died as a result of friendly fire when another guard machine gunned the incoming bus and hit the first one accidentally. When the Peruvian ambassador refused to return the exiled citizens to the authorities, Castro removed the Cuban guards from the embassy, basically opening the door to the 4,000 plus asylum seekers that came into the embassy within the next few days. Reacting to this unexpected and sudden exodus and embarrassed in front of the world media, Castro stated, "Anyone who wants to leave Cuba can do so" and declared that those who were leaving the country were the escoria (scum).

This resulted in an even worse exodus through the port of Mariel, where an improvised flotilla of Cuban exiles from Miami in small pleasure boats and commercial shrimping vessels brought Cuban citizens who wished to leave the island. Within weeks, 125,000 Cubans reached the United States despite Coast Guard attempts to stem the movement. As the exodus became international news and an embarrassment for the Cuban government, Castro emptied his hospitals and had prison inmates rounded up as "social undesirables", including criminals, 1,500 homosexuals and 600 mental patients [1] [2], and forced to take them among the political and economic refugees. The Cuban Communist Party staged meetings at the homes of those known to be leaving the country. People were intimidated by these "repudiation meetings" (mitines de repudio) where the participants screamed obscenities and defiled the facades of the homes, throwing eggs and garbage, for hours. Labeled as "traitors to the revolution" those who declared their wish to leave became the targeted victims of the attacks, their rationing cards was taken from them, their jobs were terminated or they were expelled from schools or university. Towards the end of the crisis, the repudiation meetings were ended. The scale of the exodus created political difficulties for the Cuban government, and an agreement was reached to end the boatlift after several months. Out of more than 125,000 refugees, from as low as 7,500 to as high as 40,000, were believed to possess criminal records in Cuba (although some had criminal background, most were imprisoned for being practicing Christians, political dissidents, refusing to serve in the military service or to work for the state, vagrancy, trying to escape from the country. or for buying rationed food items in the black market). In the end, only 1,774 of the refugees were classified as serious or violent criminals under U.S. law and denied citizenship on that basis. The majority of refugees were young adult males, 20 to 34 years of age, from the working class, skilled craftsman, semi skilled tradesmen and unskilled laborers who took advantage of the opportunity to leave Cuba without the hindrance of the oppressive Cuban regime. For the most part this represented the younger generation raised under the Cuban revolutionary society. However, this figure does not take into account all of those many unknown numbers of people who have perished trying to cross the Florida Straits or killed by Cuban gunboats as they attempted to leave the island.

The U.S. Department of State, in a website section entitled "Cuba: U.S.-Cuba Relations," last updated Jan. 20, 2001, explained: "In the 1980s... U.S.-Cuban relations shifted to include immigration... when a migration crisis unfolded. In 1980... the Cuban government allowed 125,000 Cubans to illegally depart for the United States from the port of Mariel, an incident known as the 'Mariel boatlift.' In 1984, the United States and Cuba negotiated an agreement to resume normal immigration, and to return to Cuba those persons who had arrived during the boatlift who were 'excludable' under U.S. law."

During the past years, exile waves have consisted of "balseros" (rafters), who brave the rough seas in homemade rafts. Janet Reno, LLD, U.S. Attorney General at the time, in an Aug. 18, 1994 press release titled "Attorney's General Statement on Cuban Influx," offered the following remarks: "To divert the Cuban people from seeking democratic change, the government of Cuba has resorted to an unconscionable tactic of letting people risk their lives by leaving in flimsy vessels through the treacherous waters of the Florida Straits. Many people have lost their lives in such crossings. We urge the people of Cuba to remain home and not to fall for this callous maneuver. I want to work with all concerned including the Cuban American community to make sure the message goes out to Cubans that putting a boat or raft to sea means putting life and limb at risk... To prevent this from happening again, the Coast Guard has mounted an aggressive public information campaign so people know that vessels... may be stopped and boarded and may be seized. Individuals who violate U.S. law will be prosecuted in appropriate circumstances."

President Clinton, trying to stem the flow of Cuban rafters, pressed a dozen Latin American governments to provide internment camps that officials hoped will prove less attractive to refugees than the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Although the refugees at Guantanamo were held behind barbed wire, to many, the base was less forbidding than a foreign internment camp. As part of the U. S. A., Guantanamo had more food and more freedom in their jails than in Cuba and Castro could do nothing to them.

However, as a result of bilateral migration accords between the two governments, in September 1994 and May 1995, the status quo of U.S. policy toward Cuban migrants was altered significantly. The U.S. granted Cuba an annual minimum of 20,000 legal immigrant visas and, at the same time, determined that Cubans picked up at sea would be sent home just as any other group of “illegal” immigrants. President Clinton's agreement with Cuba resolved the dilemma of the approximately 33,000 Cubans then encamped at Guantanamo. This new agreement, had two new points. The United States agreed to take most of the Cubans detained at Guantanamo through the humanitarian parole provision. Cuba agreed to credit some of these admissions toward the minimum quota of 20,000 migrants from Cuba, with 5,000 charged annually over the years. Secondly, rather than placing Cubans intercepted at sea in a camp, the United States began sending them back to Cuba. Both governments promised to follow international agreements to ensure that no action would be taken against the people returned to Cuba.

As a result of these migration agreements and interdiction policy, a "wet foot/dry foot" practice toward Cuban immigrants has developed. For those who do not reach the shore (dry land), they are returned to Cuba unless they fear persecution there but only those who meet the definition of asylum refugee are accepted to eventually be resettled to a third country. Those Cuban rafters who do reach land are inspected by Department of Homeland Security and usually are allowed to stay in the United States. From May 1995 through July 2003, about 170 Cuban refugees were resettled in 11 different countries, including Spain, Venezuela, Australia, and Nicaragua. The State Department request to monitor the fate of the immigrants returned to Cuba to ensure that they were not subject to reprisals, has noted that since March 2003 it has been unable to monitor any of the returnees.

Carl McGill, MA, Professor of Criminal Justice at Phoenix University, in an Aug. 5, 2000 NoCastro.com interview entitled "Candidate Carl McGill Responds to Questions on Cuba," stated: "Clinton's policy to return 'rafters' to Cuba is like returning a slave in pre-Civil War America back to his enslaver. This would have condoned civil rights violations and slavery, as returning a 'rafter' to Cuba condones human rights violations and communism. Clinton's decision on this issue is wrong."

Exile activity in the United States[link]

There is a large exiled Cuban-American population residing in the United States, especially in and around Miami, FL and Union City, NJ. Those who oppose the communist government are represented in part by the Cuban-American lobby, which supports the U.S. embargo against Cuba and pressing the communist government for political change.

Other Cuban-American groups, some of which are also opposed to the communist government, advocate different policies, opposing the embargo and favoring more cultural and economic engagement. Among the many other well known Pro Castro groups who are in favor of the Cuban regime, some infiltrated by Cuban communist agents and spies, most prominent of these groups are the Brigada Antonio Maceo, Alianza Martiana, Miami Coalition Against the Embargo of Cuba, Alianza de Trabajadores de la Comunidad Cubana, Cuban American Defense League and Rescate Cultural AfroCubano, to name a few.

As the embargo question has often been presumed to be the source of many problems in Cuba, it is should be noted that the embargo has always been controlled by the Cuban government. With their diplomatic ties with the rest of the world Cuba maintains commercial trade on a normal basis, including the overseas branches of American corporations. To send food to Cuba an order is made through a special agency which has been approved by the Cuban government, where a package is selected to be sent to the recipient in Cuba. Nothing is ever mailed there from the U.S., only a telegram is sent to an agency in Cuba that fills the order with the chosen package items which are kept in the government warehouses in Cuba. Any travel visitor to Cuba will notice that a two tier system exists in the country; one for tourists and one for Cubans. Only foreign tourists have access to these special stores where anything can be bought with their hard currencies. Tourists enjoy luxury level accommodations and privileges while visiting Cuba just like anywhere else in the world, but, these places are not open to the rest of the common Cuban people who are not only forbidden entry, it is illegal for them to have the convertible pesos used to make payment in those stores and they can not afford to buy anything there with the miserly wages the Cuban government pays its workers.

Even members of the Cuban ruling class have defected and joined the opposition. Juanita Castro, Fidel and Raul Castro's sister, has defected to the United States and denounced the regime: "I cannot longer remain indifferent to what is happening in my country. My brothers Fidel and Raúl have made it an enormous prison surrounded by water. The people are nailed to a cross of torment imposed by international Communism."^[4]

The Cuban government accuses Miami-based exiles of organizing over 700 armed incursions against Cuba over the past 40 years such as Alpha 66's 1994 and 1995 machine-gun attacks on the Guitart Cayo Coco Hotel.

On September 8, 2006, it was revealed that at least ten South Florida journalists received regular payments from the U.S. government for programs on Radio Martí and TV Martí, two broadcasters aimed at undermining the Cuban state. The payments totaled thousands of dollars over several years. Those who were paid the most were veteran reporters and a freelance contributor for El Nuevo Herald, the Spanish-language newspaper published by the corporate parent of The Miami Herald. The Cuban state has long contended that some South Florida Spanish-language journalists were on the federal payroll.^{[5][dead link]}

In November 2006, U.S. Congressional auditors accused the development agency USAID of failing properly to administer its program to promote democracy in Cuba. They said that USAID had channeled tens of millions of dollars through exile groups in Miami, which were sometimes wasteful or kept questionable accounts. The report said the organizations had sent items such as chocolate and cashmere jerseys to Cuba. Their report concludes that 30% of the exile groups who received USAID grants showed questionable expenditures.^[6]

Groups[link]

• Cuba Democracy Caucus - A bicameral and bi-partisan congressional group that was created with the stated purpose of "promoting discussion and proactive policies designed to hasten Cuba's transition towards a free and democratic society."

• Brothers to the Rescue - A group of Cuban-American activists whose primary objective is to aid Cuban refugees and immigration seekers. The group have also attempted to distribute oppositional literature in Cuba via airdrops over Cuban territory.

• US-Cuba Democracy Pac - A special interest group that lobbies the United States Congress and White House with the stated goal of "promoting an unconditional transition in Cuba to democracy, the rule of law, and the free market." [3]

• Cuban Liberty Council - Lobbying group for Cuban-Americans in the United States.[4]

• Cuban American National Foundation - Lobbying group for Cuban-Americans in the United States. [5]

• International Committee for Democracy in Cuba Group headed by former Czech president Václav Havel aimed to coordinate the approach of European and western hemisphere countries towards Castro’s government. [6]

• Cuban Libertarian Movement - a loose network of collectives and individuals comprising the Cuban anarchist movement, which is anti-capitalist, anti-Castro, and seeks change along libertarian socialist/libertarian communist or similar lines.

• Vigilia Mambisa - A group of Cuban-American demonstrators headed by Miguel Saavedra and known for their street-theater tactics and their rapid response to calls for protest aired on Miami Spanish-language stations such as WAQI AM-710 (Radio Mambi) and WWFE 670-AM (La Poderosa).^[7]

Timeline of invasions and terrorist attacks[link]

• The Escambray Rebellion (1959–1965) was a group of Cubans that had fought side by side with Castro against Batista's government and many who did not want Cuban falling to a Communist Regime, began to take up arms against the new Communist regime, particularly in the Escambray Mountains region of Cuba. The Cuban government labeled them as bandits. The War Against the Bandits was the Communist government's campaign against rebelling peasants. By July 26, 1965 Fidel Castro claimed to have liquidated "all the bandits in Cuba".

• The Bay of Pigs Invasion was an unsuccessful action by a CIA-trained force of Cuban exiles to invade southern Cuba, with support and encouragement from the US government, in an attempt to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro. The invasion was launched in April 1961, less than three months after John F. Kennedy assumed the presidency in the United States. The Cuban armed forces, trained and equipped by Eastern Bloc nations, defeated the invading combatants within three days. The main invasion landing took place at a beach named Playa Girón, located at the mouth of the bay. The invasion is named after the Bay of Pigs, although that is only a modern translation of the Spanish Bahía de Cochinos. In Latin America, the conflict is often known as La Batalla de Girón, or just Playa Girón.

• The Cuban Project (1961–1962) - US President John F. Kennedy initiated a CIA operation on November 30, 1961 to "help Cuba overthrow the Communist regime" aiming "for a revolt which can take place in Cuba by October 1962." The covert plan was intended to fuel anti-Castro sentiments provoking an overthrow of the government or assassination attempts on Castro. The Cuban Project, also known as Operation Mongoose, played a significant role in the events leading up to the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. The operation was suspended on October 30, 1962, but three six-man sabotage teams had already been deployed to Cuba, and on November 8, 1962, one six-man CIA team blew up a Cuban industrial facility without permission.

• Bombing of Cubana Flight 455. On October 6, 1976, two time bombs variously described as dynamite or C-4 planted on the Douglas DC-8 aircraft exploded, killing all 73 people on board. Evidence implicated several CIA-linked anti-Castro Cuban Exiles and members of the Venezuelan secret police DISIP.

• Ibero-American Summit Dissidents (1999) - About a dozen opposition groups claiming peaceful opposition to Castro's one-party state urged Ibero-American leaders to back their cause. 40 dissidents planning the gathering were arrested in Havana before the Ibero-American Summit. [7]

Armed resistance[link]

Acts have occurred in U.S. regions and at least sixteen other countries.^[8] A series of bombings in Miami in the mid 1970s led to hearings before a U.S. Subcommittee to investigate internal security.^[9] Notable cases of violence targeting individuals include that of Luciano Nieves, who was murdered after advocating peaceful coexistence with Cuba, and WQBA-AM news director Emilio Milian who survived a car bomb but lost his legs after he publicly condemned Cuban exile violence.^[8] In 1992 Human Rights Watch released a report stating that hard-line Miami exiles have created an environment in which "moderation can be a dangerous position."^[8]

See also[link]

Cuba portal

• Brigade 2506
• Cuban American
• Cuba-United States relations
• Cuban-American lobby
• Opposition to Fidel Castro

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Miguel A. De La Torre. 2003. La Lucha for Cuba: Religion and Politics on the Streets of Miami. University of California Press.
• Pedraza, Silvia 2007 Political Disaffection in Cuba's Revolution and Exodus (Cambridge Studies in Contentious Politics)) Cambridge University Press ISBN 0-521-68729-2 ISBN 978-0521687294

External links[link]

• The Cuban Rafter Phenomenon: A Unique Sea Exodus
• The Cuban Heritage Collection at The University of Miami
• U.S. Congress set to Open Cuban Exiles' Passage to Island by Lesley Clark & Frances Robles, Miami Herald, February 24, 2009
• Exiles Want to Expand U.S.-Cuba Relations by Damien Cave, The New York Times, April 8, 2009

v t e Cuba–United States relations Bay of Pigs Invasion · Brothers to the Rescue · Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba · Cuban American · Cuban-American lobby · Cuban dissident movement · Cuban Five · Cuban Missile Crisis · Elián González affair · Guantanamo Bay Naval Base · Helms–Burton Act · List of Cuba – United States aircraft hijackings · Luis Posada Carriles · Mariel boatlift · Operation Northwoods · Operation Peter Pan · Platt Amendment · Spanish–American War · United States Ambassador to Cuba · United States embargo against Cuba · United States Interests Section in Havana

Marco Rubio
United States Senator from Florida
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2011 Serving with Bill Nelson
Preceded by	George LeMieux
Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives
In office January 2, 2007 – January 2, 2009
Preceded by	Allan Bense
Succeeded by	Ray Sansom
Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 111th District
In office January 25, 2000 – January 2, 2009
Preceded by	Carlos Valdes
Succeeded by	Erik Fresen
Personal details
Born	Marco Antonio Rubio (1971-05-28) May 28, 1971 (age 41) Miami, Florida
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Jeanette Dousdebes
Children	4
Alma mater	University of Florida (B.A.) University of Miami (J.D.)
Profession	Lawyer
Religion	Roman Catholic[1]
Website	www.rubio.senate.gov

Marco Antonio Rubio (born May 28, 1971) is the junior United States Senator from Florida, serving since January 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives (2007–2009).

Born to Cuban immigrants, Rubio was raised in Miami, Florida, and Las Vegas, Nevada. He attended Tarkio College and Santa Fe Community College before graduating from the University of Florida. He earned his J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law in 1996 while interning for U.S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. In the late 1990s he served as a City Commissioner for West Miami. Rubio was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2000, representing the 111th House district. He was elected Speaker in November 2006.

Rubio announced a run for U.S. Senate in May 2009 after incumbent Republican Mel Martinez resigned. Initially trailing by double-digits against the incumbent Republican Governor Charlie Crist, Rubio eventually surpassed him in polling for the Republican nomination. Rubio won the Republican nomination after Crist opted instead for an independent run. In a three-way split against Crist and Democratic candidate Kendrick Meek, Rubio won the general election in November 2010 by a 19-point margin.

Rubio has been called the "crown prince" of the Tea Party movement.^[2][3] He has been mentioned as a potential choice for the Republican vice presidential nomination in 2012 but has said he is not interested.^[4]

Early life, education, and early political career[link]

Rubio was born in Miami, Florida,^[5] the second son and third child of Mario Rubio and Oria Garcia. His parents were Cubans who had emigrated to the United States in 1956 and were later naturalized as U.S. citizens in 1975.^[6] Rubio's family was Catholic, but from age 8 to age 11, he and his family attended The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while they lived in Las Vegas. He received his first communion as a Catholic in 1984, before moving back to Miami with his family a year later. He was confirmed and married in the Catholic Church.^{[7][1][8][9][10]}

Rubio attended South Miami Senior High School and graduated in 1989. He then attended Tarkio College for one year on a football scholarship from 1989 to 1990, before enrolling at Santa Fe Community College (now Santa Fe College). He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Florida in 1993, and his J.D. degree cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law in 1996.^[11]

While studying law, he interned for U.S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.^[12] Marco Rubio served as a City Commissioner for West Miami before being elected to the Florida legislature.^[13]

Florida House of Representatives (2000–2009)[link]

Rubio was elected to the Florida House of Representatives for the 111th district in a special election on January 25, 2000. He won each of his re-election bids.^[14] In November 2006, he was elected Speaker of the Florida House for the 2007–09 term.

He is the author of the book 100 Innovative Ideas for Florida's Future. This book included information that Rubio compiled while traveling around the state and talking with citizens. This was done through what Rubio calls "Idearaisers". Many of the issues that he pushed for in his first year as speaker came from ideas in this book.^[15] During 2007, Marco Rubio championed a major overhaul of the Florida tax system, arguing it would reduce property taxes and decrease the size of government.^[16]

During his tenure serving as Speaker of the Florida House, Rubio shared his residence with another Florida State Representative, David Rivera. The two men co-owned a home together in Tallahassee, which later fell into foreclosure after deferring months of mortgage payments. This issue surfaced in June 2010, during Rubio's run for the US Senate but was considered resolved according to Rubio's spokesman.^[17]

U.S. Senate (2011–present)[link]

2010 election[link]

Rubio speaking at CPAC in February 2010.

On May 5, 2009, Rubio announced on his website that he planned to run for the United States Senate in 2010 for the Republican seat being vacated by Sen. Mel Martinez, who had resigned and been replaced by George LeMieux. Prior to the announcement, he had been meeting with fundraisers and supporters throughout the state.^[18] Initially trailing by double-digits against the incumbent Governor of his own party, Charlie Crist, Rubio eventually surpassed Crist in polling for the Republican nomination.^[19][20]

On April 28, 2010, Crist announced he would be running as an independent, effectively ceding the Republican nomination to Rubio.^[21] Several of Crist's top fundraisers, as well as Republican leadership, refused^[22][23] to support Crist after Rubio won the Republican nomination for Senate.^[24]

On November 2, 2010, Marco Rubio won the senatorial election with 48.9% of the vote to Crist's 29.7% and Democrat Kendrick Meek's 20.1%.^[25] On May 20, 2011, Marco Rubio visited Puerto Rico's governor, Luis Fortuño, and made a statement of wanting to "represent the Puerto Ricans" since he already felt he owed those who had voted for him in the Florida election.^[26]

Following his victory in the elections, Rubio soon became the subject of speculation as a potential GOP candidate for the presidential election of 2012.^[27][28] Rubio stated shortly after taking office that he has no interest in running for president or vice president in 2012.^[29]

Tenure[link]

Upon taking office, Rubio hired Cesar Conda, former lobbyist and "top domestic policy adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney during the first two years of the Bush administration" as his Chief of Staff.^[30]

Rubio is also a member of the Congressional Hispanic Conference.^{[citation needed]}

Rubio cosponsored a resolution, which was passed, to declare September as National Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month.^[31]

Rubio's amendment, co-sponsored by Joe Manchin (D – WV), to allow employers to be exempted from newly mandated coverage for contraception, based on religious or moral grounds by such employers, did not pass the Senate.^[32] The Obama White House singled out Rubio from the many co-sponsors of the similar Roy Blunt amendment, which also failed to pass the Senate.^[33]

Committee assignments[link]

• Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
  • Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet
  • Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard
  • Subcommittee on Science and Space
  • Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security
• Committee on Foreign Relations
  • Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps and Narcotics Affairs (Ranking Member)
  • Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs
  • Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs
  • Subcommittee on International Development and Foreign Assistance, Economic Affairs, and International Environmental Protection
• Select Committee on Intelligence
• Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

Personal life[link]

Rubio married Jeanette Dousdebes, a former Miami Dolphins cheerleader, in 1997. She is of Colombian descent, and together they have four children named Amanda, Daniella, Anthony, and Dominic.^[34] Rubio and his family live in West Miami, Florida.^[1][35] Rubio attends Catholic Mass as well as a Southern Baptist church in West Kendall, Florida.^[36][8][37]

"Son of exiles" controversy[link]

In October 2011, the St. Petersburg Times and The Washington Post reported that Rubio's previous statements that his parents were forced to leave Cuba in 1959, after Fidel Castro came to power, were incorrect as they had in fact left Cuba in 1956 during the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. According to The Washington Post, Rubio's "embellishments" resonate with many voters in Florida, who would not be as impressed by his family being economic migrants seeking a better life in the U.S. instead of political refugees from a communist regime.^[6] Rubio responded, "The real essence of my family’s story is not about the date my parents first entered the United States. Or whether they traveled back and forth between the two nations. Or even the date they left Fidel Castro’s Cuba forever and permanently settled here."^[38][39][40] According to a number of commentators within the Cuban exile community in Miami, Rubio is justified to continue to characterize himself as a son of exiles.^[40][41]

Electoral history[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Marco Rubio

	Biography portal
	Florida portal
	Politics portal

• Senator Marco Rubio official U.S. Senate website
• Marco Rubio for U.S. Senate official campaign site
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at the National Institute for Money in State Politics
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Appearances at the Internet Movie Database
• Collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Collected news and commentary at The Guardian

v t e United States Senators from Florida Class 1 Yulee Mallory, Sr. Welch Gilbert Jones Pasco Taliaferro N. Bryan Trammell Loftin Andrews Holland Chiles Mack Nelson Class 3 Westcott Morton Yulee Osborn Conover Call Mallory, Jr. W. Bryan Milton Fletcher Hill Pepper Smathers Gurney Stone Hawkins Graham Martinez LeMieux Rubio

v t e Current statewide political officials of Florida U.S. Senators Bill Nelson Marco Rubio State government Rick Scott, Governor Jennifer Carroll, Lieutenant Governor Jeff Atwater, Chief Financial Officer Pam Bondi, Attorney General Adam Putnam, Commissioner of Agriculture Senate Mike Haridopolos, President Andy Gardiner, Majority Leader Nan Rich, Minority Leader House Dean Cannon, Speaker Carlos Lopez-Cantera, Majority Leader Ronald Saunders, Minority Leader Supreme Court (appointed) Charles T. Canady, Chief Justice Barbara Pariente R. Fred Lewis Peggy Quince Ricky Polston Jorge Labarga James E.C. Perry AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY

Pablo Milanés Arias (born in Bayamo, Cuba on February 24, 1943) is a Cuban singer-songwriter and guitar player. He studied at a conservatory in Havana. He is considered one of the founders of the Cuban nueva trova, along with Silvio Rodríguez and Noel Nicola. He is a pianist and guitarist whose Brazilian-like melodies set him apart from the raw style of Silvio Rodríguez.

Biography[link]

Once aligned with the government, Milanés has since distanced himself from the official line, to the point of, during the seventies, being sent to a reeducation prison; he has since taken a more discreet line, even occupying political posts in times of greater political freedoms. In the current persecutory environment, he keeps himself mostly quiet, but still avoids participating in pro-government campaigns;^[1][2] but on January 26, 2006, he signed a petition supporting Puerto Rico's independence from the United States of America^{[citation needed]}.

A number of artists have performed with him; among them Silvio Rodríguez, Joaquín Sabina, Ana Belén, Lilia Vera, Joan Manuel Serrat, Víctor Manuel, Compay Segundo, Raul Torres and Chucho Valdés stand out^{[citation needed]}.

Among his songs, "Yolanda", "Yo me quedo", "Amo a esta isla", "Yo pisaré las calles nuevamente", "Para Vivir", and "El breve espacio en que no estás" are especially well-known^{[citation needed]}.

Discography[link]

• 1973 - Versos Sencillos de José Martí
• 1975 - Canta a Nicolás Guillén
• 1976 - La Vida No Vale Nada
• 1977 - No Me Pidas
• 1979 - El Guerrero
• 1979 - Aniversarios
• 1982 - Filin 1
• 1982 - Acto de Fe
• 1983 - El Pregón de las Flores, with Lilia Vera
• 1983 - Años 1, with Luis Peña
• 1984 - Ao Vivo No Brasil
• 1985 - Linda y Leo
• 1985 - Comienzo y Final de una Verde Mañana
• 1986 - Años 2, with Luis Peña, Cotán
• 1987 - Buenos Días América
• 1987 - Trovadores, with Armando Garzón
• 1988 - Proposiciones
• 1989 - Filin 2
• 1989 - Filin 3
• 1990 - Identidad
• 1991 - Canto de la Abuela
• 1991 - Filin 4
• 1991 - Filin 5
• 1992 - Años 3, with Luis Peña, Cotán, Compay Segundo
• 1993 - Querido Pablo
• 1994 - Canta Boleros en Tropicana
• 1994 - Evolución
• 1994 - Igual Que Ayer, con Caco Senante
• 1994 - Orígenes
• 1994 - Plegaria
• 1995 - Si Yo Volviera a Nacer, with María Felicia, José María Vitier
• 1995 - En Blanco y Negro, con Víctor Manuel
• 1997 - Despertar
• 1998 - Vengo Naciendo
• 2000 - Días de Gloria
• 2000 - Live from New York City
• 2002 - Pablo Querido
• 2005 - Como un Campo de Maíz
• 2005 - Líneas Paralelas, with Andy Montáñez
• 2007 - Mas Alla De Todo (with Chuco Valdes)
• 2008 - Regalo
• 2008 - Feeling 6
• 2008 - Raul y Pablo (with Raul Torres)
• 2010 - Palacio Municipal de Congresos de Madrid (live DVD with Chucho Valdés)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Songs and Discographie by Pablo Milanés in CANCIONEROS.COM
• Che, Guía y Ejemplo: - Song of Pablo Milanés dedicated to the Che Guevara
• Evento en New York - Evento de Pablo Milanés en New York Sept 09 2011

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Ozzie Guillén
Guillén in August 2008
Miami Marlins – No. 13
Shortstop / Manager
Born: (1964-01-20) January 20, 1964 (age 48) Ocumare del Tuy, Venezuela
Batted: Left	Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 9, 1985 for the Chicago White Sox
Last MLB appearance
October 1, 2000 for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Career statistics (through May 30, 2012)
Batting average	.264
Hits	1,764
Runs batted in	619
Games managed	1,346
Win–loss record	707–639
Winning %	.525
Teams
As player Chicago White Sox (1985–1997) Baltimore Orioles (1998) Atlanta Braves (1998–1999) Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2000) As coach Montreal Expos (2001–2002) Florida Marlins (2003) As manager Chicago White Sox (2004–2011) Miami Marlins (2012–present)
Career highlights and awards
3× All-Star (1988, 1990, 1991) 2× World Series champion (2003, 2005) Gold Glove Award winner (1990) 1985 AL Rookie of the Year 2005 AL Manager of the Year

Oswaldo José "Ozzie" Guillén Barrios (Spanish pronunciation: [ɡiˈʎen]; born January 20, 1964) is a Venezuelan-American former Major League Baseball player and current manager of the Miami Marlins.^[1] He managed the Chicago White Sox from 2004 to 2011 until him and GM Kenny Williams didn't see eye to eye and having the White Sox release their World Series winning coach Born in Ocumare Del Tuy, Venezuela, he played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for the White Sox (1985–97), Baltimore Orioles (1998), Atlanta Braves (1998–1999) and Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2000).^[2] He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. As a player, Guillén was regarded for his passion, speed, hustle, intensity and defensive abilities and his ebullient love for the game.^[3][4] In 2005, Guillen became the first Latino manager in major league history to win a World Series.

Baseball career[link]

Player[link]

Guillén was a light-hitting, quick-handed shortstop, emerging from a line of Venezuelan shortstops that included; Chico Carrasquel, Luis Aparicio (both White Sox players), Dave Concepción, and Omar Vizquel (who played for Guillen as a utility player for the White Sox).^[5] He was originally signed as a free agent by the San Diego Padres in 1980.^[6] In December 1984, he was traded to the Chicago White Sox as part of an eight-player trade, with Tim Lollar, Bill Long and Luis Salazar in exchange for LaMarr Hoyt.^[6]

In 1985, Guillén received both the American League Rookie of the Year and The Sporting News Rookie of the Year awards, becoming only the third rookie shortstop in major league history to win a fielding title.^[7][8] He became known for his daring, aggressive style of play, as was demonstrated on August 2, 1985 in a game against the New York Yankees.^[9] With the game tied 5–5 in the 11th inning, Guillén hit a two-out single and, then proceeded to steal second base.^[9] When the next batter hit an infield single, Guillén never hesitated as he rounded third base, catching the Yankees defense off guard and scored the game-winning run.^[10]

On April 21, 1992, Guillén suffered a severe knee injury in a collision with outfielder Tim Raines.^[11] The injury caused him to miss almost the entire season, and subsequently diminished his defensive range as well as his stolen base output for the remainder of his career.^[2][12] Guillén recovered in 1993 with his most productive season offensively, posting a .280 batting average, and career highs with 4 home runs and 50 runs batted in, as the White Sox won the American League Western Division title.^[2][13] He hit .273 and scored 4 runs in a losing effort, as the White Sox were defeated by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1993 American League Championship Series.^[14]

In October 1997, after 13 seasons with the White Sox, Guillén was granted free agency status and signed a contract to play for the Baltimore Orioles.^[6] In May 1998, the Orioles released him and he signed with the Atlanta Braves as a utility infielder.^[6] He helped the Braves win the 1999 National League Championship Series against the New York Mets with a 10th inning, pinch hit single in Game 6 of the series that tied the score at nine runs apiece, as the Braves went on to win the game and the series.^[15][16] The Braves would eventually lose to the New York Yankees in Guillén's only World Series appearance as a player.^[17] After playing one year with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2000, he retired as a player at the end of the season.

Playing career statistics[link]

In a sixteen-year major league career, Guillén played in 1,993 games, accumulating 1,764 hits in 6,686 at bats for a .264 career batting average along with 28 home runs, 619 runs batted in and an on base percentage of .287.^[2] Guillén was an All-Star in 1988, 1990–1991, and won the Gold Glove Award in 1990.^[2][18] He led American League shortstops twice in range factor, once in assists and once in fielding percentage.^[2] Guillén's .974 career fielding percentage ranks him 40th overall among major league shortstops, ahead of both Luis Aparicio and Dave Concepcion.^[19] While he was considered one of the best fielding shortstops in the American League, Guillén was often overlooked in post-season awards because his playing career coincided with that of Cal Ripken, Jr.^[4] Guillén ranks among the White Sox all-time leaders in games played, hits, and at-bats.^[20] As a hitter, he was known as a free swinger, posting one of the highest at bats per walk ratios in major league history.^[21] Guillén played his entire Venezuelan Winter League career with Tiburones de La Guaira.

Manager[link]

Following his playing career, Guillén coached for the Montreal Expos in 2001 and 2002 and the World Champion Florida Marlins in 2003 before he was hired in the offseason to replace Jerry Manuel as the White Sox manager.^[22] He received a standing ovation from the crowd of 37,706 Chicagoans when introduced before his first game as a manager at U.S. Cellular Field on April 13, 2004. On May 30, 2005, the White Sox extended Guillén's contract, making the move while the team had the best record in the majors (33–17).

In 2005, he led the White Sox to their first American League pennant since 1959, and their first World Series win since 1917 with a 4-game sweep of the Houston Astros. Guillén claimed that he might retire after the 2005 season should the White Sox win the World Series, but at the parade celebrating the World Champions he received cheers from the fans when he announced he would indeed return to manage the next season. The White Sox picked up the 2006 option on his contract, added two more years and included an option for the 2009 season. In November, Guillén was voted the 2005 American League Manager of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers Association of America.^[23]

On September 4, 2009, Guillén won his 500th game as manager of the Chicago White Sox as the White Sox defeated the Boston Red Sox by a score of 12–2.^[24][25] Guillen has publicly stated that he feels the 2003 steroids list should be released to the public.^[26]

Personal difficulties with White Sox General Manager Kenny Williams led to speculation dating back to October 2010 that the White Sox would allow Guillén out of his contract to manage the Marlins.^[27] On September 26, 2011, an inability to get a contract extension worked out with the White Sox eventually led to his being released from his position, with the White Sox retaining the right to receive compensation should Guillén manage in the 2012 season.^[28][29]

On September 28, 2011, the Marlins introduced Guillén as their new manager.^[1] Robin Ventura replaced Guillén as manager of the White Sox. The Marlins sent Jhan Mariñez and Osvaldo Martínez to the Chicago White Sox as compensation for the hiring of Guillén by the Marlins, as Guillen had one year remaining on his contract with the White Sox.^[30]

Personal life[link]

Guillén in 2008

Guillén married Ibis Cardenas in 1983. They have three sons: Ozwaldo "Ozzie" Jr. (born 1985), Oney (born 1986), and Ozney (born 1992).^{[31][32][33][34]} Ozzie Jr. was born in Las Vegas, Nevada; his two younger brothers were born in Venezuela. When Ozzie Guillen turned 42 in January 2006, he, his wife, and son Oney became naturalized U.S. citizens.^[35] Ozzie Jr. is the lead Spanish-language broadcaster on the White Sox radio network.^[31][32]

Controversies[link]

Guillen is known for being somewhat eccentric and outspoken, which sometimes lands him in the middle of controversy.^[36] He declined to join in the traditional visit to the White House after the 2005 White Sox World Series win.^[37]

In June 2006 he was quoted as calling Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti a fag.^[38] He later apologized for offending any LGBT people, but did not back down in his criticism of Mariotti.^[39]

In 2010 he spoke against Arizona's new law to deal with illegal immigration. Guillen described illegal immigrants as "workaholics." "And this country can't survive without them," he said. "There are a lot of people from this country who are lazy. We're not. Prove me wrong. A lot of people in this country want to be on the computer and send e-mails to people. We do the hard work. We're the ones who go out and work in the sun to make this country better."^[40] In August, Guillen said that Asian players were treated better than Latino players, stating that while it is common practice for major league clubs to provide a Japanese or Korean translator for their Asian born players, no such translator is provided for their Spanish-speaking Latin American ballplayers.^[41]

On April 10, 2012, Guillén was suspended for five games by the Marlins due to comments made about former Cuban President Fidel Castro. In a Time interview Guillen said, "I love Fidel Castro ... I respect Fidel Castro. You know why? A lot of people have wanted to kill Fidel Castro for the last 60 years, but that motherfucker is still here." ^[42][43][44]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ozzie Guillén

	Biography portal
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	Venezuela portal

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
• Ozzie Guillén managerial career statistics at Baseball-Reference.com
• MLB Web Page – biography
• Baseball Library – profile
• Ozzie Guillén on Twitter
• Interview in The Heckler
• Ozzie Guillen: The Wit and Wisdom – slideshow by Life magazine
• Ozzie Guillen: He's Another Concepcion in the Making, Baseball Digest, August 1988
• Ozzie Guillen Still Retains Defensive Edge at Short, Baseball Digest, July 1996