Operation Peter Pan was a covert operation, launched by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which orchestrated the clandestine emigration of over 14,000 unaccompanied Cuban children to the United States during the Cold War. Sparked by fears that Fidel Castro's newly established communist regime would indoctrinate and exploit the island's youth, the operation utilized a network of priests, social workers, and anti-Castro activists to convince parents to send their children to the U.S. under the guise of a summer camp program. The children were subsequently placed in foster homes and orphanages throughout the country, many of them never reuniting with their families due to the ongoing political tensions between Cuba and the U.S. Despite its humanitarian intentions, the operation left a lasting emotional scar on many of the children involved, who struggled with issues of identity, loss, and the complexities of international conflict.
