MANGUITO, CUBA – The majority of Marcos Perez’s friends fled the country last year. Now, he and his family are pooling their money to do the same.
“Only a few of my friends are left, the ones who lack ambition and the ones who have kids. I could count them on one hand,” Perez said. His father sells goods on the black market to keep the family fed and clothed, and has even earned enough to buy a new, sleek metal fridge, an uncommon luxury in Cuba.