Edited by Peter L. Nacci

Tom Fagan, Peter L. Nacci, Gustavo Fernandez, Barbara Owen, Loren Karacki, John W. Roberts

This book was prepared in 1988. It was classified by the Federal Prison System (FPS) as administratively sensitive, and distribution was restricted until 1997, Then, a modified version was released following a request made under the Freedom of Information Act.

CUBA! - a reproduction of the original manuscript with some 2008 editorial adjustments.

To make the current version valuable as a teaching tool, the Editor has added end-of-chapter Discussion Topics to encourage student interaction and understanding.

This detailed report on the late 1987 Mariel Cuban detainee uprisings reflects information compiled by a team of accomplished corrections professionals and academics in the immediate aftermath of the disturbances at the Federal Detention Center in Oakdale, Louisiana, and the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia.

This publication addresses the history of the Mariels’ detention and events related to these disturbances, up to 1988. But the Marielitos Story continues. New review processes were instituted in the aftermath of the 1987 events. Oakdale and Atlanta detainees were distributed throughout the Bureau’s other institutions, first in detention status; later most were released to the general population. Special classification and other programs for these individuals enabled them to function in a more normal fashion. Most of them created few problems as they awaited release destinations under the new procedures.

This report is a clear, thorough account of these unprecedented events – a Report that will serve prison administrators, scholars and Corrections students as a solid guide to the complex, difficult and dangerous times in which the FPS found itself as it managed the Mariel Cubans in the 1980s. It shows how the Agency and staff (with the help of other Government organizations as well) rose to the challenges faced dealing with this crisis.

• Introduction and Executive Summary
• Historical Background of the Disturbances
• The Oakdale Disturbance
• The Atlanta Disturbance
• Crisis Management
• The View From Inside: Cuban Detainees in the Riots
• Hostage Riot Negotiations