OPERATION PEDRO PAN

Between December 1960 and October 1962, more than 14.000 Cuban children were embarked on a one-way trip to Miami, in one of the lesser known and most tragic episodes of the Cold War.
Operation Pedro Pan was conducted by the Catholic Church with the aid of anti-Castro organizations and financial support from the American government. A rumour was spread in the island that Fidel Castro intended to deprieve parents of custody of their children. In order to preserve them from Communist indoctrination, many middle-class families chose to send their sons and daughters alone to the United States. The little refugees were sent to orphanages and foster homes all around the United States. Some of the children suffered neglect and abuse. Others never saw their parents again.
Today, one of them is the Mayor of Miami, others have come back to Cuba or still live in the US: they look back on this event and recount how it influenced their lives.