Jorge Del Rio always wanted to be a citizen of the world.

That was impossible in Cuba, where he could not freely leave the island or receive news from abroad. Then, on Aug. 5, 1994, Del Rio was swept up in the spontaneous anti-government protest in Havana that sparked the rafter crisis.

"I felt like part of history," he said. "Something very important was happening with the Cuban people."

Afraid he would be arrested, Del Rio joined some friends and left Cuba two weeks later on a catamaran fashioned from plastic foam. They knew that if intercepted, they could end up at the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay -- President Bill Clinton had announced that policy only hours before they left. They rowed and sailed for three days until the U.S. Coast Guard caught up with them 30 miles off of Key West.

Del Rio, 39, spent a year at Guantanamo before coming to the United States. He eventually found work doing environmental analyses, the same type of job he had in Cuba, and now manages Walsh Environmental Inc. in South Miami.

Along the way, he met friends who live in countries such as Russia and Italy. One friend in Africa sends him monthly missives by e-mail.

Del Rio has also visited London and Germany, and he spent a week exploring Madrid and Sevilla in Spain.

As he talks about the places he's been and the international connections he's made, a big smile comes over his face.

"I think it is something that fills my spirit," he says.

Copyright © 2004