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Operation Peter Pan (Operation Pedro Pan or Operación Pedro Pan) was a mass exodus of unaccompanied Cuban minors to the United States from 1960 to 1962.  This operation was the result of fearful parents under the newly instated Castro Regime who did not want to give up their parental rights to the Cuban government.  Created by the Catholic Welfare Bureau headed by Father Bryan O. Walsh, the program alerted Cuban parents that their children could travel by plane to the United States without visas, and that they would be provided a shelter or reunited with relatives. Largely unpublicized for fear of being viewed as political propaganda, this underground operation eventually became the largest recorded exodus of unaccompanied youth in the Western hemisphere.

History

Operation Peter Pan was first developed in November of 1960 by Father Bryan O. Walsh, director of the Catholic Welfare Bureau.  He was inspired by a fifteen year old Cuban boy named Pedro who had immigrated to Miami to live with family.  His relatives could not support him and came to the Catholic Welfare Bureau for help. Walsh understood that countless more “Pedros” from Cuba would be immigrating to the United States after the establishment of Communism under Fidel Castro. Speculations that this new government was planning to send minors to the Soviet Union to serve in work camps were causing panic in Cuban parents, who wanted to leave but did not have the means to do so.  

Walsh contacted Tracy Voorhees, who suggested the Eisenhower Administration provide funding to aid Cuban immigrants once they arrived in Miami, a mere 90 miles from the coast of Cuba.  James Baker, the headmaster of an American school located in Havana, met with Walsh and detailed his efforts with several parents to expatriate their children to Miami.  Operation Peter Pan was formed under the agreement that Baker would arrange the exile of children, and Walsh would find shelters for the immigrants once in Miami.

Many other key figures assisted in alerting parents throughout the island about this program, including Penny Powers, Pancho and Bertha Finlay, Drs. Sergio and Serafina Giquel, Sara del Toro de Odio, and Albertina O’Farril.  To maintain confidentiality, the program kept only minimal contact with the members in Cuba, and underground organizations led by the parents involved spread information regarding Operation Peter Pan.  

Between December 26, 1960 and October 23, 1962, more than 14,000 Cuban youths traveled to Miami.  Until early 1962, the children were required to have a visa to travel to the United States.  Many family members already in the United States applied for visas to send to relatives in Cuba. The US Embassy in Havana also played a large role in the issuing of student visas to children leaving the country. On January 3, 1962, the U.S. Department of State announced that Cuban minors no longer needed visas to immigrate to the United States.  Nearly half of the minors who arrived were reunited with family, while the majority were placed in shelters through the Catholic Welfare Bureau.

After the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962, all flights between the United States and Cuba stopped, marking the cessation of Operation Peter Pan.  In order for Cuban immigrants to enter the United States, they were required to fly through Spain or Mexico until December 1965.  At that point, the United States began providing Freedom Flights so Cuban parents and their children could reunite.

Demographics of minors

A large majority of the minors who arrived in Miami were between the ages of 12 and 18, and over two-thirds were boys over the age of 12.  They were predominately Catholic, but those of Protestant, Jewish, and non-practicing backgrounds were also involved. Operation Peter Pan mainly benefited children of the middle or lower classes, as those of wealthier families had likely already immigrated.

Complications

As the numbers of children who arrived in the US increased, concern for the availability of shelters grew. Special homes, authorized by state officials and operated by Cuban refugees, were formed in many major cities including Albuquerque, New Mexico, Lincoln, Nebraska, Wilmington, Delaware, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Jacksonville, and Orlando, Florida. Laws prevented any relocated children from being housed in reform schools or centers for juvenile delinquents. As Operation Pedro Pan was originally established in order to protect the rights of Cuban parents and guardians, none of minors were adopted in the United States.

Despite claims that large amounts of minors involved in Operation Peter Pan lost contact with their families, records prove this is not true.  The agency shows no records of lost minors, and once the Freedom Flights began, almost 90% of the minors still being cared for under the Catholic Welfare Bureau were able to reunite with their parents.

Originally, many Cubans believed that Castro’s time in power would be short-lived. Minors in the United States and their families believed that they would be reunited in Cuba, but eventually numerous parents left their home-country behind for what is still known as Cuban Miami today.

Funding

By late 1960, Castro had expropriated several companies that comprised of the American Chamber of Commerce in Havana, including Esso Standard Oil Company and Freeport Sulfur Company. The leaders of these companies moved to Miami while they analyzed the actions of Cuba's new government. Under the impression that Castro's rule would be short lived, they agreed to aid the Cuban children until the government was overthrown by providing funding for Operation Peter Pan. Through collaborations with Baker, these business leaders agreed to help secure donations from multiple US businesses and send them to Cuba. Because Castro was supervising all major monetary transactions, the businessmen had to be very careful in how the funds were transferred. Some donations were sent to the Catholic Welfare Bureau, and others were written out as checks to citizens living in Miami. These individuals then wrote checks out to the W. Henry Smith Travel Agency in Havana, which funded the children's flights to the United States. It was necessary to send the funds in American currency because Castro had ruled that plane tickets could not be purchased with Cuban pesos.

Aftermath

The unaccompanied Cuban minors who were part of the Operation Pedro Pan exodus call themselves "Pedro Pans" or "Peter Pans" today. Several are now well-known figures in American culture, including:

• US Senator Mel Martinez

• singer Willy Chirino

• Miami Dade College President Eduardo J. Padrón
• developer Armando Codina
• singer Lissette Alvarez
• Alfredo Lanier
• Margarita Exquiroz, an ex-Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge^[8]

As adults, some Peter Pans created the charitable organization "Operation Pedro Pan Group" to help needy children and preserve the history of Operation Peter Pan.

In culture

• Carlos Eire- Waiting for Snow in Havana

• Yvonne M. Conde- Operation Pedro Pan: The Untold Exodus of 14,048 Cuban Children

• Christina Diaz Gonzalez- The Red Umbrella