Jeb Bush’s Florida story built on self-made successes, family connections | Tampa Bay Times

Race riots left 18 dead, hundreds injured and rows of burned-out buildings. Tens of thousands of Cubans, serious criminals among them, came ashore in the Mariel boatlift. Cocaine unleashed an unprecedented level of carnage and fear.

Yet the city still hummed with economic promise and a flourishing Latin culture. It felt right for 28-year-old Jeb Bush and his Mexican-born wife, Columba, and they moved there in January 1981, just as his father was sworn in as vice president alongside Ronald Reagan.