August 7, 2025 — Belly of the Beast
Fernando Bretos has a unique claim to fame. He may be the only Cuban American whose parents both came to the United States as unaccompanied minors during Operation Peter Pan, the CIA-fueled exodus of more than ten thousand Cuban children in the early 1960s.
Bretos grew up in Miami Beach and years later visited the island for the first time as a marine biologist. He has led conservation efforts of Cuba’s coral reefs, which play a big role in maintaining marine biodiversity throughout the Caribbean, including in Florida.
In a recent Op-Ed on our website, Bretos writes about how the embargo affects scientific collaboration and threatens Florida’s ecosystem. According to Bretos, U.S. sanctions have “only hurt people – both in Cuba and in the United States.”
