this was once a place full of tourists, but when the pandemic came tourists, but when the pandemic came to cuba, the country lost a vital source of income. medicine and food shortages sparked unprecedented demonstrations against the government. and the biggest exodus to the us since the 1959 cuban revolution. many put their lives in the hands of human smugglers, on dangerous journeys across central america.

others took a shorter but treacherous route. there are sharks, jellyfish, and storms can pop unexpectedly. hundreds have died or gone missing. this is the story of three cubans who risked everything to leave the island for florida.

in 2019 he was living in the country with his wife and daughter. it was the mecca of tourism for communist run cuba. foryears, he had been teaching diving and watersports to tourists.

with a strict embargo until the 19605 with a strict embargo until the 1960s brought money to cuba, around $600 million in 2019. for years it was supported by its commonest ally, the soviet union, when the socialist bloc collapsed in the 1990s, cubans faced a daily struggle to survive. elian had recovered from bowel cancer, but after surgery he could not source enough colostomy bags. but complaining against

the cuban regime was difficult. growing up in santiago de cuba, 22—year—old celimar learned this from a young age. celimar�*s father was a dissident. that had repercussions for the whole family. the impact of the lockdown, the lack of tourism and us trade sanctions meant cuba was plunged into its deepest crisis in decades.

chanting in spanish on 11 july 2021, protests swept across the streets of cuba. some of the largest anti—government demonstrations since 1959. alejandro was a soldier living in havana.

it wasn't long before protesters say events turned violent.

cubans who wanted to leave the country face travel restrictions abroad. but four months after the protest, nicaragua,

a long—standing ally, unexpectedly lifted requirement for visiting cubans to have a visa. it was the chance celimar had been waiting for. celimar knew if she could get to nicaragua, gangs of smugglers would transport her illegally across central america to the us, where her father was living. celimar was travelling on her own. but along the route, she joined thousands of other

cubans and migrants from all over central america. within months, it would become cuba's largest exodus since 1959. back in cuba the situation was more than elian could bear.

for the sake of his family's future, he decided he had to go. he chose to do it in the way he knew best. elian was going to attempt a 90 mile crossing on his beloved windsurf board.

alejandro didn't have a passport, so he couldn't fly to nicaragua. he managed to sell his motorbike to buy an inflatable kayak. but he had never been out at sea further than the beach.

alejandro spent the day on the beach practising with the kayak. and then when it got dark it was time to go.

in the skies above, the us coast guard were patrolling the waters. as 2022 continued, they noticed a rapid increase in cuban migrant boats. cubans who could not afford to pay smugglers to traffic them through nicaragua were taking to the sea in record numbers. for my aircrews it was not uncommon to see six, seven, eight, nine contacts in a single five—hour patrol in the south florida straits. the vessels are often home—made, with tarps, wood, straps, car engines, lawnmower engines, no engines, handmade paddles with a piece of plywood nailed to a broomstick. unfortunately what we see is why many do make it, you know, hundreds still die trying to make it, and that's the hardest part about ourjob.

down on the water elian was now stranded because of a lack of wind. his situation was becoming more and more dangerous.

elian's fear of having to spend the night on the surfboard was becoming real.