in the early "60's" who fled, many of them connected with the previous government of the U.S.-supported and armed Fulgencio Batista. Many of the former politicians and business owners and plantation owners fled to South Florida. A great deal of the Cuban Treasury was emptied as they all fled to Florida, New Jersey, mostly, then Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Spain.
This core of extremists continued to launch violent raids and assaults on Cuba and Cubans for the next 40+ years, after 1959. They whole-heartedly endorse both a total embargo and a total travel ban. They believe it's right to apply whatever pressure is needed to bring the people to such desperation they launch their own counter-Revolution to nullify the effects of their original Revolution, after which time the South Florida people intend to get right back in the driver's seat.
Florida Congresswoman, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen has said, on tv, that she and her family (parents) came to South Florida fully expecting to return within the year. Apparently that was the belief of a lot of the first wave. They imagined the U.S. government supported them fully, and would grab back their island, by force, and return them to power.
The people of Cuba didn't share that view, and fended off the Bay of Pigs invasion easily, with gusto.
Bush is going over the heads of the majority of Florida Cubans and trying to speak directly to those he imagines are in power. It seems he believes they will keep the others in line, as they used to do.
The successive waves of Cubans to Florida have been less political, coming for economic reasons, and a lot of them tend to be Democrats.
Bush doesn't seem to recognize the community is going through important shifts currently, and that the younger Cuban-American generations are less obsessed about getting revenge in Cuba, and are not as capable of being manipulated.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~We must impose a harsh blockade so that hunger and its constant companion, disease, undermine the peaceful population and decimate the Cuban army. John C. Breckenridge
Department of War
Office of the Undersecretary
Washington D.C.
December 24, 1897
http://www.historyofcuba.com/history/bmemo.htm
"El Quijote de la Lampara",
crowds after the fall of Batista,
taken by Alberto Korda