Operation Peter Pan

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Operation Peter Pan (Operación Pedro Pan), was an operation coordinated by the United States government and the Roman Catholic Church in which over 14,000 children emigrated from Cuba and were brought to the United States. It took place between December 26, 1960 and October 23, 1962.

Pan Am flights took the children to Miami, Florida, which, in the Operation's jargon, was referred to as "Never-Never Land"; the children became known as the "Peter Pans." One of the most famous of these was Florida Senator Mel Martinez.

Although Operation Pedro Pan was meant to be a clandestine program, the Cuban government discovered it, but allowed the program to continue.

Operation Pedro Pan slowed down when the Cuban government stopped flights to the U.S. due to the Cuban Missile Crisis. Although this action made it more difficult to travel to the United States from Cuba, alternate routes were discovered. Parents would fly to a third country (often Mexico or Spain) from Cuba and would have to wait in limbo to obtain a visa that would allow them to travel to the United States. The Government of the United Kingdom allowed Cuban children to fly to Jamaica with British visas, then fly directly to the United States.

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