it was the chance celimar had been waiting for. celimar had been waiting for.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. backin 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 win surfboard. —— 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 coastguard were patrolling the waters. as 2022 continued, they notic

celimar was travelling on her own.he 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 traffick them through nicaragua were taking to the sea in record numbers. for my aircrews, it was not uncommon to see

celimar was travelling on her own. 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

in mexico, celimar was hidden in a safe house controlled by the cartels. after windsurfing for nearly two days, elian was drifting closer to florida but he had pushed his body to its limits. elian was rescued just after sunset. he received urgent medical care. after three days, alejandro thought he could see lights on the horizon. as the sun rose, he realised it was a hotel. after 13 days on the road, celimar was getting close to the us border. but there was one final challenge — the notorious rio bravo. because of the strong currents, many migrants have died on this crossing, and celimar was trying to cross in winter. at the start of 2023, following a record influx of migrants, the us government took radical action. in texas, troops were deployed to the mexican border. and a new parole programme was introduced. cubans who entered the us illegally would not be eligible to apply. with elian already in florida, his wife and daughter had been making the dangerous crossing by land from nicaragua. they made it over the us border just before the new system came