Miami – Picture this: Cuban leader Fidel Castro dies, Cuba’s military battles protesters on the streets, and frantic Cubans take to the seas. In South Florida, exiles board boats and head for Cuba to pick up desperate relatives – or to help start an armed insurrection. Boat traffic jams choppy seas. People drown. Chaos erupts.
The U.S. government believes this could happen. On Tuesday, federal, state and local authorities accelerated preparations for Castro’s death – starting a two-day drill on responding to a mass exodus.
As 400 emergency officials and others held the tabletop exercise at the Broward County Convention Center, Miami police sent an e-mail to reporters Tuesday afternoon warning of unsubstantiated rumors about Castro’s “possible death,” and even Gov. Jeb Bush was alerted about the buzz in South Florida. Journalists in Havana said Tuesday that the rumors were rampant there as well but that no unusual activity or military presence was noted in the streets. The U.S. Interests Section said there were no new reports on Castro’s health.
At the command-post exercise, Amos Rojas Jr., special agent in charge of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, said authorities want the public to respond with calm when Castro dies and stay off the streets – and seas. Among the real options on the table Tuesday: closing all marinas in South Florida, shutting down the airports, even limiting fuel sales.
