Mariel, Cuba facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mariel
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View of Mariel and Mariel Bay
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Mariel municipality (red) within
Artemisa Province (yellow) and Cuba |
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| Country | Cuba | |
| Province | Artemisa | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 269 km2 (104 sq mi) | |
| Elevation | 5 m (16 ft) | |
| Population
(2022)
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| • Total | 44,461 | |
| • Density | 165.28/km2 (428.1/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) | |
| Area code(s) | +53-7 | |
| Climate | Am | |
Mariel is a town and a local government area in the Artemisa Province of Cuba. It is about 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of the big city of Havana. Mariel is known for its important bay and port.
Contents
Geography and Location
Mariel is located on the southeast side of the Mariel Bay. The municipality includes several smaller villages. These include La Boca, Henequen, Mojica, Quiebra Hacha, and Cabañas.
History of Mariel
First Flight Over Water
A man named Agustín Parlá Orduña was born in Key West in 1887. His parents were Cuban and had left Cuba during the fight for Cuba's independence. On May 19, 1913, he became the first person to fly 119 miles (192 km) over the sea. He flew from Key West, Florida to El Mariel, Cuba.
The Mariel Boatlift
The port of Mariel is the closest port in Cuba to the United States. In 1980, about 125,000 Cubans left Mariel by boat. They traveled to the United States in an event known as the Mariel boatlift. Many people made this journey, and those who did were called "Marielitos".
Population Facts
In 2022, the town and municipality of Mariel had a population of 44,461 people. The total area of Mariel is 269 square kilometers (104 square miles). This means there are about 170 people living in each square kilometer (440 per square mile).
Transportation and Port Development
Mariel's Port and Industries
On the east side of Mariel Bay, there is a port, a factory that makes cement, and a power station. These industries are important for the local economy. On the west side of the bay, there used to be a base for submarines. This area was later set up as a free trade zone. A free trade zone is a special area where goods can be traded without some of the usual taxes and rules.
New Port of Mariel Project
In 2009, Brazil and Cuba made an agreement to build a new port in Mariel. A Brazilian engineering company called Grupo Odebrecht worked with a Cuban company on this project. The Brazilian government helped pay for the project, providing a lot of money.
The port was made deeper, to 18 meters (59 feet). This allows very large ships, called Super-Panamax vessels, to use the port. These ships are too big for many other ports.
The new Port of Mariel was designed to have a long dock, about 700 meters (766 yards) long. This allows two large ocean vessels to dock at the same time. Plans for the port include facilities for exploring oil offshore. There will also be a new terminal for containers, and places to handle and store different types of cargo.
Special Economic Development Zone
The plans also include a Special Economic Development Zone. This zone is for light manufacturing and storage. The new Mariel Port can handle deeper ships than Havana Bay. This is because a tunnel under Havana's channel limits how deep ships can go there. The Mariel container terminal is planned to handle many more containers each year than Havana's port.
These improvements mean Mariel can welcome the very large container ships. These ships will travel from Asia through the Panama Canal once its enlargement is finished.
In 2011, a big port operator from Singapore, PSA International, was chosen to run the new container terminal.
Future Trade Opportunities
Mariel is in a great location to handle goods from the United States. This will become even more important if trade rules between the two countries change in the future. Mariel could become one of the main hub ports in the Caribbean region. A hub port is a central port where large ships unload goods, and then smaller ships take those goods to other places. Mariel could compete with other big ports like Freeport in the Bahamas and Kingston in Jamaica.
The new port, with better roads, railways, and communication systems, started working in January 2014. The president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, and the Cuban leader, Raúl Castro, officially opened the first part of the new container terminal.
Cuba created the special economic zone in 2014. The goal was to attract foreign businesses by offering tax breaks and easier customs rules. By late 2018, 43 applications from foreign businesses were approved. Seventeen foreign companies were already working in the zone. As of 2023, companies are building large solar energy plants in this special zone.
The special development zone has different economic rules than the rest of Cuba. Foreign investors in the zone contribute a small part of their income to a fund for the zone's development. They also pay a small sales tax for local transactions. Cuban businesses that provide products and services to foreign companies in the zone can keep half of their profits.
Notable Person
- The famous American actress Mariel Hemingway was named after this town.
See also
In Spanish: Mariel (Cuba) para niños
