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Returning to Cuba we learn how a mass migration turned into a Cold War drama : White Lies The story of the men on the roof didn't start with that prison takeover in 1991. It didn't start when they were detained in federal prisons. And it didn't start when the government made a secret list of their names in 1984. Instead, it started in the spring of 1980, with one of the largest refugee crises in American history: the Mariel Boatlift. Want to hear the next episode of White Lies a week before everyone else? Sign up for Embedded+ at plus.npr.org/embedded.

White Lies

The Boatlift

season 2, episode 2

The Boatlift

Listen · 49:35
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A boat arrives in Key West, Fla., with more Cuban refugees in April 1980 from Cuba's Mariel Harbor after crossing the Florida Straits. The historic Mariel boat lift brought over 100,000 Cubans into the United States. Tim Chapman/Miami Herald/Getty Images hide caption

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Tim Chapman/Miami Herald/Getty Images

A boat arrives in Key West, Fla., with more Cuban refugees in April 1980 from Cuba's Mariel Harbor after crossing the Florida Straits. The historic Mariel boat lift brought over 100,000 Cubans into the United States.

Tim Chapman/Miami Herald/Getty Images

The story of the men on the roof didn't start with that prison takeover in 1991. It didn't start when they were detained in federal prisons. And it didn't start when the government made a secret list of their names in 1984. Instead, it started in the spring of 1980, with one of the largest refugee crises in American history: the Mariel Boatlift.

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Want to hear the next episode of White Lies a week before everyone else? Sign up for Embedded+ at plus.npr.org/embedded.