In August 1994, after a Cuban
                policeman was killed in an
                effort to retake a hijacked
                commuter ferry boat bound for
                Miami, rumors spread that
                a flotilla of boats was on
                its way from the United States
                to collect anyone interested
                in leaving the country.
                      
                
            


                On August 5, thousands of Cubans
                gathered along the Havana 
                waterfront in expectation. When
                the rumors proved false, several 
                hours of rioting ensued. Rioters
                smashed the windows of the fancy
                downtown Hotel Deauville and 
                looted local stores.


                
                Two weeks later, a mass exodus
                was underway, with 30,000 
                Cubans eventually fleeing in
                makeshift rafts. (Many were
                picked up by U.S. officials
                and taken to the Guantanamo Bay
                naval base in Eastern Cuba.)