Cuban Paradise

Seven! Count 'em. Seven Cuban athletes defect. This reminds me of the old days of the Soviet Union when Olympic and other sporting events were favourite places for defections to occur. It's hard to believe that 20 plus years after the collapse of communism in Europe that Cuba is still clinging to this old crumbling idea. Yet we still hear stories like this:

"Last year, 3,197 Cuban migrants were intercepted at sea -- the highest number in a single year since the 1994 rafter crisis, when 37,191 Cubans were interdicted."

I don't know why they would want to leave such a paradise and head out to the evil empire across the 60 mile stretch of the Florida Straits. Somebody please explain.