Seagull One

The story of Brothers to the Rescue and the Cuban refugees they flew to safety, told in collaboration with founding member José Basulto

There was a time in Miami when it seemed impossible to go through a week without news coverage of the men, women, and children escaping Cuba and being pulled off of makeshift rafts in the middle of the Florida Straits. One out of four did not survive the dangerous journey; the others barely hung on with little food and water. Many of the lucky ones were saved by a group of volunteers who called themselves Brothers to the Rescue (BTTR).

Seagull One presents the never-before-told story of the men and women of nineteen nationalities who came together to fly in rickety Cessnas over the water between Cuba and Florida to search for balseros—rafters fleeing Communist Cuba. It is a fascinating account of how José Basulto, a Cuban exile and Bay of Pigs veteran, founded BTTR with the humanitarian mission of saving the lives of the desperate souls willing to brave the ocean in pursuit of freedom. “Seagull One” was Balsuto’s radio call sign. The group’s tactics were sometimes controversial, including protests against both the Cuban and U.S. governments, yet the organization managed to save over 4,200 people they would seldom, if ever, meet.

Seagull One also records the infiltration of two spies, one who was a double agent working for the FBI. Together these two volunteers collaborated with the Castro government in planning the shoot-down over international waters of two unarmed Cessnas flying a humanitarian mission on February 24, 1996. The cold-blooded murder of four innocent men (three American citizens and one legal resident) led to significant changes in U.S.-Cuba relations.

Over one hundred people were interviewed for Seagull One, including pilots and recuees. Lily Prellezo brings their stories to life against the backdrop of BTTR’s steadfast rallying cry for change from within Cuba. Basulto, along with a community of volunteers, strived to offer their brothers and sisters across the Straits of Florida the mantra that had spearheaded the organization seventeen years ago: El cambio soy yo. I am the change.