In the summer of 1994, Cubans once again began taking to the water, attempting to escape the oppression of Fidel Castro's government. Many tried, but few made the treacherous journey across the Florida Straits.
Spectators line the beach at Cojimar, just east of Havana, to watch rafters escape under the cover of night.
Family and friends help rafters carry their vessel along the rocky beach of Cojimar.
Under the threat of foul weather and a U.S. vow to send them to the U.S. Naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuban refugees launch their raft from the rocky beach of Cojimar.
Lourdes Rios, lower left, pleads with her husband not to make the dangerous journey to the United States. In the background, her sister weeps as another family member kisses her husband good- bye.
Lourdes Rios, her sister and other family members gather at the waters edge to wave one last good-bye to their loved ones setting sail for the United States.
Disheartened rafters return to the shore, putting their plans to sail to the U.S. on hold, rather than riding out stormy seas.
Hungry and tired, Cuban rafters were ready to be towed back to Havana by an American yachtsman when he found them floating eight miles off the Cuban coast. They had been floating in the Florida Straits for five days.
A lone raft carrying refugees floats off the Havana coast, returning to Cuba after an aborted attempt to flee.
All photographs