After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the subsidies, the Cuban government found himself in a complicated situation. In Cuba, the government had to increase rationing, and it was hard to find food. The black market prices skyrocketed.
The situation in the country was very volatile. The "special period" was at its highest peak. I and many of my generation were tired of empty promises of a better future. We were all anxiously waiting for a significant change or a way out.
The number of Cubans leaving Cuba in improvised rafts was growing by days, and may desperate Cubans were recurring to hijacks to archive their dream of leaving their country. The Cuban government got frustrated by this and announced they would no longer prevent anyone from leaving the island.
After the Cuban government decided not to prevent Cubans from leaving the island, a sea of people left Cuba in improvised rafts. I was one of them.