In Miami, the death of former President Jimmy Carter on Sunday evokes memories of the Mariel boatlift of 1980. During that crisis, Carter allowed 125,000 Cubans to come to South Florida after dictator Fidel Castro opened the Mariel port. Among them was Edel Rodriguez, now a celebrated illustrator whose acclaimed graphic memoir, titled Worm, recounts his and his family’s journey as marielitos to Hialeah. He says they owe Carter a debt of gratitude.
“I was just speaking with my father, and he actually didn’t know that Carter had passed away, and I said it to him. And he said, ‘Well, we’re here ‘cause of that man.’ You look back on your life — especially for me, I go back to Cuba every few years, and I see where my best friends are at and what’s happened with their life," Rodriguez said. "And I got quite a boost by just being able to come to this country. And it may not have happened without Carter being President.”
Rodriguez says as he grew older and watched the humanitarian projects that filled Carter’s post-presidential life, he better understood what led Carter to make his Mariel boatlift decision.
READ MORE: Jimmy Carter gave Panama control of the canal. It's one of his most controversial achievements
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