These Cubans Risked It All to Escape Communism. See How They Sailed to America.

Since Fidel Castro seized power in 1959, a steady stream of Cuban refugees has taken to the waves in a desperate attempt to escape the Communist regime.

For more than 50 years, refugees have braved the 90-mile, shark-infested stretch of water between Cuba and Florida. In search of freedom, they set sail in flotillas of rickety fishing boats, ingeniously converted cars, and crude homemade rafts.

For her part, the United States welcomed each successive wave with mostly open arms until President Clinton amended the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act in 1994. Since then, only Cuban refugees who make it to dry ground have been granted political asylum.

As Washington renews diplomatic relations with Havana, The Daily Signal takes a look back at the historic Cuban exodus to freedom.

In October 1965, Castro announced that the port of Camarioca would be opened for any Cubans wishing to sail for the “Yankee Paradise.” More than 2,900 fled before Castro closed the port.

In 1980, facing intense political pressure, Castro opened the Mariel port for those wishing to leave. More than 125,000 left the island.

With the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, economic conditions in Cuba suffered dramatically and thousands of immigrants took flight.

Struggling to manage the flow of refugees, President Bill Clinton amended the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act. The subsequent “wet foot/dry foot” policy allowed refugees to remain only if they reached dry land. If detained at sea by the Coast Guard, refugees must return to Cuba.