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| constituency = [[Cárdenas, Cuba|Cárdenas]]
| constituency = [[Cárdenas, Cuba|Cárdenas]]
| term_start = April 19, 2023
| term_start = April 19, 2023
| birth_place = [[Cárdenas, Cuba|Cárdenas]], Cuba<ref name=biography.com>{{cite web|url=https://www.biography.com/people/eli%C3%A1n-gonz%C3%A1lez-9542365|title=Elián González| work=[[Biography (TV program)|Biography]].com |date=February 28, 2019}}</ref>
| birth_place = [[Cárdenas, Cuba|Cárdenas]], Cuba<ref name=biography.com>{{cite web|url=https://www.biography.com/people/eli%C3%A1n-gonz%C3%A1lez-9542365|title=Elián González|work=[[Biography (TV program)|Biography]].com|date=February 28, 2019|access-date=February 28, 2019|archive-date=February 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190228192028/https://www.biography.com/people/eli%C3%A1n-gonz%C3%A1lez-9542365|url-status=live}}</ref>
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1993|12|6}}
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1993|12|6}}
| parents = Juan Miguel González Quintana (father)<br />Elizabeth Brotons Rodríguez (mother, deceased)
| parents = Juan Miguel González Quintana (father)<br />Elizabeth Brotons Rodríguez (mother, deceased)
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| alma_mater = [[University of Matanzas]]
| alma_mater = [[University of Matanzas]]
}}
}}
'''Elián González Brotons''' (born December 6, 1993) is a Cuban industrial engineer and politician who, as a young child, became embroiled in an international custody and immigration controversy in 2000 involving the governments of Cuba and the United States, his father Juan Miguel González Quintana, his other relatives in Cuba and in Miami, and Miami's Cuban community.
'''Elián González Brotons''' (born December 6, 1993) is a Cuban engineer and politician. As a young child, he was at the center of a high-profile international [[Child custody|custody dispute]] between family members and involving [[Cuba]] and the [[United States]].


On November 21, 1999, Elián's mother, her partner, and Elián fled Cuba by boat as part of a group of refugees attempting to reach the United States. The boat sank during the journey, and Elián's mother, along with most of the passengers, drowned. Elián was found floating on an inner tube and rescued by two fishermen, who turned him over to the [[United States Coast Guard|U.S. Coast Guard]]. Elián was taken to a hospital and treated for dehydration and minor cuts. In addition to Elián, a young couple survived and reached shore separately.
González's mother Elizabeth Brotons Rodríguez drowned in November 1999 while attempting to leave Cuba with González and her boyfriend to get to the United States.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/717071.stm |title=Elian's relatives at war |work=BBC News|date=April 18, 2000}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/01/14/nyregion/nyc-a-tug-of-war-as-complex-as-war.html |title=NYC; A Tug of War As Complex As War|last= Haberman| first= Clyde |newspaper=The New York Times|date=January 14, 2000}}</ref> Elián Gonzalez was five years old when found nestled in an inner tube floating at sea {{convert|3|mi|km|0|spell=in}} from Florida's Fort Lauderdale coast. Two fishermen found Elián and reluctantly handed him over to the [[U.S. Coast Guard]], as they feared he would be sent back to Cuba under the [[wet feet, dry feet policy]] since he had not yet reached land.<ref name=Cova/> The Coast Guard assured them that Elián would be taken "ashore for medical reasons", deeming him eligible to stay.<ref name=Cova/>{{rp|152}} Elián was immediately taken to a hospital and treated for dehydration and minor cuts on his body. It was later found that Elián's mother, Elisabeth Brotons Rodríguez, and Lázaro Munero García, her common-law husband, had left Cárdenas, Cuba, as part of a group with 14 refugees on a {{cvt|17|ft|adj=on}} boat.<ref name=Cova/> However, the others died in a storm, while a young couple escaped to the shore, and Elián was found individually.


The [[Immigration and Naturalization Service]] (INS) granted Elián temporary permission to stay in the U.S. and placed him with his great-uncle, Lázaro González, in Miami. His great-uncle wanted Elián to remain in the country, while his father, Juan Miguel González, sought his return to Cuba. This led to a high-profile and protracted custody battle involving his father, his Miami relatives, and U.S. and Cuban officials. Elián was returned to his father's custody after an INS raid on his Miami relatives' home on April 22, 2000. They returned to Cuba when the legal dispute concluded on June 28, 2000.
Once he had been treated, the [[Immigration and Naturalization Service]] (INS) provided Elián with a temporary deferral regarding his inspection, and further released Elián to his great-uncle, Lázaro González, who lived with his family in Miami's [[Little Havana]].<ref name=Cova/> These relatives informed the family in Cárdenas to prepare for an [[extreme hardship]] visa waiver. The former were told the next day that "some functionary of the government would be coming to get the boy" as a result of [[Fidel Castro]]'s having met with Juan Miguel, Elián's father.<ref name=Cova/>{{rp|153}} The involvement of the Cuban [[Communist Party of Cuba|Communist]] leader in the case and the subsequent diplomatic note written to the [[United States Department of State|U.S. Department of State]] emphasizing the father's demand for Elián's repatriation attracted international attention.<ref name=Cova/> This is because Elián had become a "symbol to many exiles" reminding them of the solidarity of the Cuban exile community and its privileged status with economic refugee criteria.<ref name=Cova/>{{rp|153}} He subsequently became the subject of a custody battle waged by his father, Miami relatives, and state officials from the U.S. and Cuba.


Elián González grew up in Cuba, earned an engineering degree, and worked as an [[Industrial engineering|industrial engineer]]. In 2023, he was elected to the [[National Assembly of People's Power]], representing [[Cárdenas, Cuba]].
After protracted legal wrangling, and intervention by [[United States Attorney General|Attorney General]] [[Janet Reno]], it was determined that Elián would be returned to his father's custody. He was seized from the home of his Miami relatives in a raid by the INS; a dramatic photo of an INS agent confronting a relative holding Elián during the raid went on to win the 2001 [[Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography|Pulitzer Prize]].<ref name=":2" /> Elián's father in turn returned with him to Cuba. Elián grew up in Cuba, where he was well regarded by Fidel Castro. Elián went on to earn a degree in engineering, and has worked as an engineer in Cuba. Elián's story has been covered in popular culture; a museum in Cuba includes an exhibit about him. In 2023, he was nominated for a seat in the [[National Assembly of People's Power]], and joined the body on April 19, 2023 representing the city of Cárdenas.<ref name="pbs" />


==Early life==
==Early life==
Elián González was born December 6, 1993, to divorced parents.<ref name= biography.com /> Although his parents divorced in 1991 after six years of marriage, the couple would separate for good in 1996, but both remained close with their son. They split custody of Elián, who spent up to five nights a week with his father or one of his grandmothers and the rest of the time with his mother.<ref>https://www.biography.com/political-figures/elian-gonzalez</ref>
Elián González was born December 6, 1993, to divorced parents.<ref name= biography.com />


===Journey to Florida===
===Journey to Florida===
[[File:Elián González's journey, 2000.jpg|thumb|400px|The journey from [[Cárdenas, Cuba]], to Florida]]
[[File:Elián González's journey, 2000.jpg|thumb|400px|The journey from [[Cárdenas, Cuba]], to Florida]]
On November 21, 1999, González, his mother Elizabeth Brotons Rodríguez, and twelve others left Cuba on a small aluminum boat with a faulty engine; González's mother and ten others died in the crossing. González and the other two survivors floated at sea until they were rescued by two fishermen, who handed them over to the [[United States Coast Guard]].<ref name="Sue Plemming">{{cite web|url=http://www.cubanet.org/CNews/y00/mar00/27e4.htm |title=Cuban boy draws picture of shipwreck drama | first= Sue |last= Plemming |date=March 27, 2000 |publisher=cubanet.org, quoting a Fox News article |access-date=October 6, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090112215621/http://www.cubanet.org/CNews/y00/mar00/27e4.htm |archive-date= January 12, 2009 }}</ref>
On November 21, 1999, González, his mother Elizabeth Brotons Rodríguez, and twelve others left Cuba on a small aluminum boat with a faulty engine; González's mother and ten others died in the crossing, and their bodies were never recovered. González floated at sea on an inner tube until he was rescued by two fishermen, who handed him over to the [[United States Coast Guard]].<ref name="Sue Plemming">{{cite web|url=http://www.cubanet.org/CNews/y00/mar00/27e4.htm |title=Cuban boy draws picture of shipwreck drama | first= Sue |last= Plemming |date=March 27, 2000 |publisher=cubanet.org, quoting a Fox News article |access-date=October 6, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090112215621/http://www.cubanet.org/CNews/y00/mar00/27e4.htm |archive-date= January 12, 2009 }}</ref> The two other survivors of the journey, a young couple, made it to the Florida coast separately.<ref name="survivors">{{cite web |author=The Associated Press |title=Survivors of Cuban Boy's Voyage Feel Ignored |website=The New York Times |date=2000-11-27 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/27/us/survivors-of-cuban-boy-s-voyage-feel-ignored.html |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527141726/http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/27/us/survivors-of-cuban-boy-s-voyage-feel-ignored.html |archive-date=2015-05-27 |url-status=live |access-date=2024-09-10}}</ref>


González's cousin Marisleysis said that the boat's motor broke down and they tried in vain to bail out the water with nylon bags, but a storm doomed their efforts. He told her he tried to help get the water out and his mother's boyfriend placed him in an inner tube for safety. "He said afterwards that he fell asleep and that when he woke up he never saw his mother again". He said, "I think she drowned too because she didn't know how to swim".<ref name="Sue Plemming"/>
González's cousin Marisleysis said that Elián had told her that the boat's motor broke down and they tried in vain to bail out the water with nylon bags, but a storm doomed their efforts. He told her he tried to help get the water out and his mother's boyfriend placed him in an inner tube for safety. "He said afterwards that he fell asleep and that when he woke up he never saw his mother again". He said, "I think she drowned too because she didn't know how to swim".<ref name="Sue Plemming"/>


Nivaldo Fernández Ferrán, one of the three survivors on the boat, said "Elizabeth protected her son to the end". According to Fernández Ferrán, they set out on their trip at 4&nbsp;am, dragging inflated rubber floats, or [[inner tube]]s, in case they needed them. As they encountered bad weather, the boat's engine failed and the craft began to fill with water. After it went under, the passengers clung to the inner tubes in cold water, with waves reaching heights of three to four meters (10 to 13 feet).<ref>{{cite news |url= http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_6_16/ai_59585370/ |title=A Love Supreme |first= Diana |last= Ray |date=February 14, 2000 |publisher= BNET, quoting insightmag.com |access-date=October 6, 2008 }}{{dead link|date=May 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
Nivaldo Fernández Ferrán, one of the three survivors on the boat, said "Elizabeth protected her son to the end". According to Fernández Ferrán, they set out on their trip at 4&nbsp;am, dragging inflated rubber floats, or [[inner tube]]s, in case they needed them. As they encountered bad weather, the boat's engine failed and the craft began to fill with water. After it went under, the passengers clung to the inner tubes in cold water, with waves reaching heights of three to four meters (10 to 13 feet).<ref>{{cite news |url= http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_6_16/ai_59585370/ |title=A Love Supreme |first= Diana |last= Ray |date=February 14, 2000 |publisher= BNET, quoting insightmag.com |access-date=October 6, 2008 }}{{dead link|date=May 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
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The U.S. legislation system had enacted the [[Cuban Adjustment Act]] in 1966, which sought to provide [[Asylum in the United States|political asylum]] for Cubans who fled their country in the hopes of a new life. Under the act, Cuban refugees without [[United States visa|visas]] entering the United States were paroled, and after a year could apply for [[Permanent Resident of the United States|permanent resident]] status.<ref name=Cova>Cova, A. D. (2015). The Elian Gonzalez case: The world's most-watched and politically-charged custody battle that reached the U.S. Supreme Court and determined a presidential election. ''Harvard Latino Law Review'', ''18''(1), 152–200.</ref> The US also issued 20,000 lottery visas every year to Cuban emigrants under the [[Wet feet, dry feet policy|wet foot, dry foot policy]].<ref name=Cova/> Under this policy, those who reached the mainland were granted asylum, while those who were intercepted at sea by the [[U.S. Coast Guard]] were sent back to Cuba.<ref name=Cova/>
The U.S. legislation system had enacted the [[Cuban Adjustment Act]] in 1966, which sought to provide [[Asylum in the United States|political asylum]] for Cubans who fled their country in the hopes of a new life. Under the act, Cuban refugees without [[United States visa|visas]] entering the United States were paroled, and after a year could apply for [[Permanent Resident of the United States|permanent resident]] status.<ref name=Cova>Cova, A. D. (2015). The Elian Gonzalez case: The world's most-watched and politically-charged custody battle that reached the U.S. Supreme Court and determined a presidential election. ''Harvard Latino Law Review'', ''18''(1), 152–200.</ref> The US also issued 20,000 lottery visas every year to Cuban emigrants under the [[Wet feet, dry feet policy|wet foot, dry foot policy]].<ref name=Cova/> Under this policy, those who reached the mainland were granted asylum, while those who were intercepted at sea by the [[U.S. Coast Guard]] were sent back to Cuba.<ref name=Cova/>


Lázaro González, backed by local [[Cuban Americans]], took the position that the boy should remain in the United States and not be returned to his father. Marisleysis González (Lázaro's adult daughter) became Elián González's caretaker and spokesperson for the paternal relatives. Also, [[Armando Gutierrez]], a local Cuban-American businessman, became a spokesman.<ref name="NYT">{{cite news|last1=Johnston|first1=David|title=THE ELIAN GONZALEZ CASE: THE OVERVIEW; U.S. Gathers Officers, Preparing To Take Cuban From Miami Kin |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/21/us/elian-gonzalez-case-overview-us-gathers-officers-preparing-take-cuban-miami-kin.html |access-date=February 19, 2018| work=The New York Times|date=April 21, 2000}}</ref> At the same time, Juan Miguel, with the support of Cuban authorities, demanded that his son be returned to Cuba.{{citation needed|date=June 2016}}
Lázaro González, backed by local [[Cuban Americans]], took the position that the boy should remain in the United States and not be returned to his father. Marisleysis González (Lázaro's adult daughter) became Elián González's caretaker and spokesperson for the paternal relatives. Also, [[Armando Gutierrez]], a local Cuban-American businessman, became a spokesman.<ref name="NYT">{{cite news|last1=Johnston|first1=David|title=THE ELIAN GONZALEZ CASE: THE OVERVIEW; U.S. Gathers Officers, Preparing To Take Cuban From Miami Kin|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/21/us/elian-gonzalez-case-overview-us-gathers-officers-preparing-take-cuban-miami-kin.html|access-date=February 19, 2018|work=The New York Times|date=April 21, 2000|archive-date=February 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180220152359/http://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/21/us/elian-gonzalez-case-overview-us-gathers-officers-preparing-take-cuban-miami-kin.html|url-status=live}}</ref> At the same time, Juan Miguel, with the support of Cuban authorities, demanded that his son be returned to Cuba.{{citation needed|date=June 2016}}


On January 21, 2000, Elián González's grandmothers, Mariela Quintana and Raquel Rodríguez, flew from Havana to the United States to seek their grandson's return to Cuba. While they were able to meet with the boy only once at the [[Miami Beach]] home of [[Barry University]] president Sister Jeanne O'Laughlin, they journeyed to Washington and met with congressmen and [[United States Attorney General|Attorney General]] [[Janet Reno]]. After nine days of media coverage (during which Republican lawmakers acknowledged they did not have the votes to pass a bill to give González U.S. citizenship), they returned to Cuba to "a hero's welcome".<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/625102.stm | title=Heroes' welcome for Elian grandmothers | publisher=BBC | date=January 30, 2000 | access-date=June 18, 2007}}</ref>
On January 21, 2000, Elián González's grandmothers, Mariela Quintana and Raquel Rodríguez, flew from Havana to the United States to seek their grandson's return to Cuba. While they were able to meet with the boy only once at the [[Miami Beach]] home of [[Barry University]] president Sister Jeanne O'Laughlin, they journeyed to Washington and met with congressmen and [[United States Attorney General|Attorney General]] [[Janet Reno]]. After nine days of media coverage (during which Republican lawmakers acknowledged they did not have the votes to pass a bill to give González U.S. citizenship), they returned to Cuba to "a hero's welcome".<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/625102.stm | title=Heroes' welcome for Elian grandmothers | publisher=BBC | date=January 30, 2000 | access-date=June 18, 2007 | archive-date=February 26, 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080226201102/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/625102.stm | url-status=live }}</ref>


On January 28, the Spanish foreign minister [[Abel Matutes]] called for the boy's return to Cuba, stating that [[international law]] dictated the return. Meanwhile, the González family in Miami denied allegations that they had offered Juan Miguel a house and a car if he abandoned the action and joined his son in Miami.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/622690.stm | title=Spain backs Cuba over custody row | publisher=BBC | date=January 18, 2000 | access-date=June 18, 2007}}</ref> Juan Miguel was uninterested in emigrating.<ref>{{Cite web |last=By |date=2000-04-16 |title=DESPITE OVERTURES, ELIAN'S DAD HAS NO DESIRE TO DEFECT – Sun Sentinel |url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2000-04-16-0004160314-story.html |access-date=2023-05-18 |language=en-US}}</ref>
On January 28, the Spanish foreign minister [[Abel Matutes]] called for the boy's return to Cuba, stating that [[international law]] dictated the return. Meanwhile, the González family in Miami denied allegations that they had offered Juan Miguel a house and a car if he abandoned the action and joined his son in Miami.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/622690.stm | title=Spain backs Cuba over custody row | publisher=BBC | date=January 18, 2000 | access-date=June 18, 2007 | archive-date=February 26, 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080226201053/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/622690.stm | url-status=live }}</ref> Juan Miguel was uninterested in emigrating.<ref>{{Cite web |last=By |date=2000-04-16 |title=DESPITE OVERTURES, ELIAN'S DAD HAS NO DESIRE TO DEFECT – Sun Sentinel |url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2000-04-16-0004160314-story.html |access-date=2023-05-18 |language=en-US |archive-date=July 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210701153850/https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2000-04-16-0004160314-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref>


Through January and February, Juan Miguel sent a number of open letters to the U.S. government—published in, among other places, the Cuban newspaper ''[[Granma (newspaper)|Granma]]''—demanding the return of his son and refusing the Miami relatives' demands.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/644276.stm | title=Elian's father makes new appeal | publisher=BBC | date=February 15, 2000 | access-date=June 18, 2007}}</ref>
Through January and February, Juan Miguel sent a number of open letters to the U.S. government—published in, among other places, the Cuban newspaper ''[[Granma (newspaper)|Granma]]''—demanding the return of his son and refusing the Miami relatives' demands.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/644276.stm | title=Elian's father makes new appeal | publisher=BBC | date=February 15, 2000 | access-date=June 18, 2007 | archive-date=September 12, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190912130057/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/644276.stm | url-status=live }}</ref>


Chicago-based [[fathers' rights]] attorney [[Jeffery M. Leving]] spearheaded the amicus brief, which set the foundation of the custody case to reunite González with his father in Cuba.<ref>The Group Who Filed Elian Gonzalez Brief, Supports INS Decision, PR Newswire, January 7, 2000. Retrieved August 29, 2016.</ref> Manuel González, Elián Gonzalez's great uncle, later retained Leving to reunite González with his father.<ref>Jeffery Leving, attorney for Elian's great uncle Manuel Gonzalez, discusses the Elian Gonzalez custody hearing, CNN, May 11, 2000. Retrieved August 29, 2016.</ref><ref>Intervenor Applicant's Resp. to Pls.’ and Defs.’ Opp’n to Mot. to Intervene and Mot. for Relief Under Rule 17(c) at 1, 14., Gonzalez v. Reno, 86 F. Supp. 2d (S.D. Fla. 2000) (No. 00-0206).</ref><ref name="Kapos">{{cite magazine |url= http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20131105/BLOGS03/131109940/elian-gonzalez-case-comes-full-circle-for-jeffery-leving|title=Elian Gonzalez case comes full circle for Jeffery Leving|magazine=[[Crain's Chicago Business]]|first=Shia|last=Kapos|date=November 5, 2013}}</ref>
Chicago-based [[fathers' rights]] attorney [[Jeffery M. Leving]] spearheaded the amicus brief, which set the foundation of the custody case to reunite González with his father in Cuba.<ref>The Group Who Filed Elian Gonzalez Brief, Supports INS Decision, PR Newswire, January 7, 2000. Retrieved August 29, 2016.</ref> Manuel González, Elián Gonzalez's great uncle, later retained Leving to reunite González with his father.<ref>Jeffery Leving, attorney for Elian's great uncle Manuel Gonzalez, discusses the Elian Gonzalez custody hearing, CNN, May 11, 2000. Retrieved August 29, 2016.</ref><ref>Intervenor Applicant's Resp. to Pls.’ and Defs.’ Opp’n to Mot. to Intervene and Mot. for Relief Under Rule 17(c) at 1, 14., Gonzalez v. Reno, 86 F. Supp. 2d (S.D. Fla. 2000) (No. 00-0206).</ref><ref name="Kapos">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20131105/BLOGS03/131109940/elian-gonzalez-case-comes-full-circle-for-jeffery-leving|title=Elian Gonzalez case comes full circle for Jeffery Leving|magazine=[[Crain's Chicago Business]]|first=Shia|last=Kapos|date=November 5, 2013|access-date=July 14, 2017|archive-date=September 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180907193009/http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20131105/BLOGS03/131109940/elian-gonzalez-case-comes-full-circle-for-jeffery-leving|url-status=live}}</ref>


On March 21, Judge [[Kevin Michael Moore]] of the [[United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida]] dismissed the relatives' petition for asylum which they had filed on behalf of Elián González. Lázaro vowed to appeal.<ref>{{cite news | url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/685472.stm | title=Elian asylum case dismissed | publisher=BBC | date=March 21, 2000 | access-date=June 18, 2007}}</ref> On March 29, [[Miami-Dade County, Florida|Miami-Dade County]] mayor [[Alex Penelas]] was joined by 22 other civic leaders in a speech in [[downtown Miami]]. Penelas indicated that the municipality would not cooperate with Federal authorities on any repatriation of the boy, and would not lend police assets or any other assistance in taking the boy.
On March 21, Judge [[Kevin Michael Moore]] of the [[United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida]] dismissed the relatives' petition for asylum which they had filed on behalf of Elián González. Lázaro vowed to appeal.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/685472.stm | title=Elian asylum case dismissed | publisher=BBC | date=March 21, 2000 | access-date=June 18, 2007 | archive-date=November 22, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201122082924/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/685472.stm | url-status=live }}</ref> On March 29, [[Miami-Dade County, Florida|Miami-Dade County]] mayor [[Alex Penelas]] was joined by 22 other civic leaders in a speech in [[downtown Miami]]. Penelas indicated that the municipality would not cooperate with Federal authorities on any repatriation of the boy, and would not lend police assets or any other assistance in taking the boy.


On April 14, a video was released in which Elián González told Juan Miguel that he wanted to stay in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Elian Says He Wants To Stay In USA |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/elian-says-he-wants-to-stay-in-usa/ |access-date=2022-05-10 |website=www.cbsnews.com |date=April 13, 2000 |language=en-US}}</ref> However, many thought that he had been coached,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2015/06/28/417716173/how-the-battle-over-eli-n-gonz-lez-helped-change-u-s-cuba-policy|title=How The Battle Over Elián González Helped Change U.S. Cuba Policy |first= Tim| last= Padgett| website= [[NPR]].org|date=June 28, 2015}}</ref> as a male voice was heard off-camera directing the young boy.{{Citation needed|date=July 2014}} In a September 2005 interview with ''[[60 Minutes]]'' after being sent back to Cuba, González stated that during his stay in the U.S., his family members were "telling me bad things about [my father]", and "were also telling me to tell him that I did not want to go back to Cuba, and I always told them I wanted to."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4299294.stm|title=Elian interview sparks Miami row|date=September 30, 2005|work=BBC News|access-date=October 6, 2008}}</ref>
On April 14, a video was released in which Elián González told Juan Miguel that he wanted to stay in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Elian Says He Wants To Stay In USA |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/elian-says-he-wants-to-stay-in-usa/ |access-date=2022-05-10 |website=www.cbsnews.com |date=April 13, 2000 |language=en-US |archive-date=May 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220510135529/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/elian-says-he-wants-to-stay-in-usa/ |url-status=live }}</ref> However, many thought that he had been coached,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2015/06/28/417716173/how-the-battle-over-eli-n-gonz-lez-helped-change-u-s-cuba-policy|title=How The Battle Over Elián González Helped Change U.S. Cuba Policy|first=Tim|last=Padgett|website=[[NPR]].org|date=June 28, 2015|access-date=April 5, 2018|archive-date=August 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180812110542/https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2015/06/28/417716173/how-the-battle-over-eli-n-gonz-lez-helped-change-u-s-cuba-policy|url-status=live}}</ref> as a male voice was heard off-camera directing the young boy.{{Citation needed|date=July 2014}} In a September 2005 interview with ''[[60 Minutes]]'' after being sent back to Cuba, González stated that during his stay in the U.S., his family members were "telling me bad things about [my father]", and "were also telling me to tell him that I did not want to go back to Cuba, and I always told them I wanted to."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4299294.stm|title=Elian interview sparks Miami row|date=September 30, 2005|work=BBC News|access-date=October 6, 2008|archive-date=December 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201211000600/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4299294.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>


Elián González remained a subject of media attention as he went to [[Walt Disney World Resort]] one day, then met with politicians the next. Throughout the custody battle, opinion polls showed that a majority of Americans believed González should be returned to his father in Cuba, and that doing so was in the boy's best interest.<ref>{{cite news | last = Newport | first = Frank | title = Americans Continue to Favor the Return of Elian Gonzalez to Cuba | publisher = Gallup News Service | date = April 4, 2000 | url = http://www.gallup.com/poll/3034/Americans-Continue-Favor-Return-Elian-Gonzalez-Cuba.aspx | access-date = June 20, 2009}}</ref>
Elián González remained a subject of media attention as he went to [[Walt Disney World Resort]] one day, then met with politicians the next. Throughout the custody battle, opinion polls showed that a majority of Americans believed González should be returned to his father in Cuba, and that doing so was in the boy's best interest.<ref>{{cite news | last = Newport | first = Frank | title = Americans Continue to Favor the Return of Elian Gonzalez to Cuba | publisher = Gallup News Service | date = April 4, 2000 | url = http://www.gallup.com/poll/3034/Americans-Continue-Favor-Return-Elian-Gonzalez-Cuba.aspx | access-date = June 20, 2009 | archive-date = August 15, 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160815151901/http://www.gallup.com/poll/3034/americans-continue-favor-return-elian-gonzalez-cuba.aspx | url-status = live }}</ref>


Attorney General Janet Reno ordered the return of Elián González to his father and set a deadline of April 13, 2000, but the Miami relatives defied the order. Negotiations continued for several days as the house was surrounded by protesters as well as police. The relatives insisted on guarantees that they could live with the child for several months and retain custody, and that González would not be returned to Cuba. Negotiations carried on throughout the night, but Reno stated that the relatives rejected all workable solutions.<ref name="Martin">{{cite news | url=http://www.wsws.org/articles/2000/apr2000/raid-a25.shtml | title=Rescue of Elian Gonzalez intensifies political crisis in US | publisher=[[World Socialist Web Site]] | first=Patrick | last=Martin | date=April 25, 2000 | access-date= June 18, 2007}}</ref>
Attorney General Janet Reno ordered the return of Elián González to his father and set a deadline of April 13, 2000, but the Miami relatives defied the order. Negotiations continued for several days as the house was surrounded by protesters as well as police. The relatives insisted on guarantees that they could live with the child for several months and retain custody, and that González would not be returned to Cuba. Negotiations carried on throughout the night, but Reno stated that the relatives rejected all workable solutions.<ref name="Martin">{{cite news | url=http://www.wsws.org/articles/2000/apr2000/raid-a25.shtml | title=Rescue of Elian Gonzalez intensifies political crisis in US | publisher=[[World Socialist Web Site]] | first=Patrick | last=Martin | date=April 25, 2000 | access-date=June 18, 2007 | archive-date=September 20, 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120920193506/http://www.wsws.org/articles/2000/apr2000/raid-a25.shtml | url-status=live }}</ref>


On April 19, the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit]] in [[Atlanta]] ruled that González must remain in the U.S. until his family in Miami could appeal for an asylum hearing in May.<ref>{{cite news| last= Bragg| first= Rick| title= THE ELIAN GONZALEZ CASE: THE OVERVIEW; Cuban Boy Stays in U.S. for Now, a Court Decides| url= https://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/20/us/elian-gonzalez-case-overview-cuban-boy-stays-us-for-now-court-decides.html| work= The New York Times| date= April 20, 2000| access-date= May 11, 2020}}</ref>
On April 19, the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit]] in [[Atlanta]] ruled that González must remain in the U.S. until his family in Miami could appeal for an asylum hearing in May.<ref>{{cite news| last= Bragg| first= Rick| title= THE ELIAN GONZALEZ CASE: THE OVERVIEW; Cuban Boy Stays in U.S. for Now, a Court Decides| url= https://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/20/us/elian-gonzalez-case-overview-cuban-boy-stays-us-for-now-court-decides.html| work= The New York Times| date= April 20, 2000| access-date= May 11, 2020| archive-date= June 23, 2020| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200623201216/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/20/us/elian-gonzalez-case-overview-cuban-boy-stays-us-for-now-court-decides.html| url-status= live}}</ref>


On January 10, 2000, a Florida state court had ruled that the Florida family court was able to decide the merit of motion related with temporary custody by Lázaro González, stating that Elián should stay with the Miami relatives until a further custody hearing. However, [[United States Attorney General|Attorney General]] [[Janet Reno]] declared that the federal courts are responsible for deciding this case, and that the Miami relatives must appeal to the federal court.<ref>{{cite web |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=April 14, 2000 |title=The Elian Gonzalez case: Chronology; Custody Tug of War Over Cuban Boy |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/14/us/the-elian-gonzalez-case-chronology-custody-tug-of-war-over-cuban-boy.html |website=The New York Times}}</ref> Here, the objective of Reno was to provide the relatives with a chance to provide "any information" they could that would be "relevant in the decision". She again emphasized that the INS commissioner had declared that the father speaks for the son, and that his wishes were to have his son returned to him.<ref name="conference">{{cite web |title=Reno Press Conference (2000) |url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4587358/reno-press-conference |website=c-span.org |language=en-us}}</ref>
On January 10, 2000, a Florida state court had ruled that the Florida family court was able to decide the merit of motion related with temporary custody by Lázaro González, stating that Elián should stay with the Miami relatives until a further custody hearing. However, [[United States Attorney General|Attorney General]] [[Janet Reno]] declared that the federal courts are responsible for deciding this case, and that the Miami relatives must appeal to the federal court.<ref>{{cite web |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=April 14, 2000 |title=The Elian Gonzalez case: Chronology; Custody Tug of War Over Cuban Boy |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/14/us/the-elian-gonzalez-case-chronology-custody-tug-of-war-over-cuban-boy.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=November 16, 2018 |archive-date=January 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102123533/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/14/us/the-elian-gonzalez-case-chronology-custody-tug-of-war-over-cuban-boy.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Here, the objective of Reno was to provide the relatives with a chance to provide "any information" they could that would be "relevant in the decision". She again emphasized that the INS commissioner had declared that the father speaks for the son, and that his wishes were to have his son returned to him.<ref name="conference">{{cite web |title=Reno Press Conference (2000) |url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4587358/reno-press-conference |website=c-span.org |language=en-us |access-date=November 16, 2018 |archive-date=June 20, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240620051151/https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4587358/user-clip-reno-press-conference |url-status=live }}</ref>


The judge's order cleared the way for González to be returned to his father's custody. On April 19, Reno accepted a last-ditch offer at mediation between González's relatives from [[University of Miami]] president [[Edward T. Foote II]], Carlos Saladrigas, and [[Carlos de la Cruz]]. However, a day later Reno made the decision to remove González from the house if the negotiations failed and instructed law enforcement officials to determine the best time to obtain the boy. They decided to hold the raid on either Saturday, April 22, or Monday, April 24, to avoid [[Good Friday]] or [[Easter|Easter Sunday]]. President [[Bill Clinton]] urged Reno to keep the negotiations going but approved the raid if they failed.<ref name=":0" />
The judge's order cleared the way for González to be returned to his father's custody. On April 19, Reno accepted a last-ditch offer at mediation between González's relatives from [[University of Miami]] president [[Edward T. Foote II]], Carlos Saladrigas, and [[Carlos de la Cruz]]. However, a day later Reno made the decision to remove González from the house if the negotiations failed and instructed law enforcement officials to determine the best time to obtain the boy. They decided to hold the raid on either Saturday, April 22, or Monday, April 24, to avoid [[Good Friday]] or [[Easter|Easter Sunday]]. President [[Bill Clinton]] urged Reno to keep the negotiations going but approved the raid if they failed.<ref name=":0" />
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===Seizure and reactions===
===Seizure and reactions===
[[File:inselian.jpg|thumb|300px|A federal agent retrieves Elián from his relatives' home in Miami. This photo won the [[2001 Pulitzer Prize]] for Breaking News.<ref name=":2">{{cite web|url=http://www.pulitzer.org/prize-winners-by-year/2001|title=2001 Pulitzer Prizes|website=pulitzer.org}}</ref>]]
[[File:inselian.jpg|thumb|300px|A federal agent retrieves Elián from his relatives' home in Miami. This photo won the [[2001 Pulitzer Prize]] for Breaking News.<ref name=":2">{{cite web|url=http://www.pulitzer.org/prize-winners-by-year/2001|title=2001 Pulitzer Prizes|website=pulitzer.org|access-date=August 4, 2016|archive-date=July 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160723230849/http://www.pulitzer.org/prize-winners-by-year/2001|url-status=live}}</ref>]]


In the pre-dawn hours of Saturday, April 22, agents of the [[United States Border Patrol]]'s special [[BORTAC]] unit, as part of an operation in which more than 130 [[Immigration and Naturalization Service]] personnel took part,<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.radiohc.org/Distributions/Radio_Havana_English/.2000/2000_aug/Radio_Havana_Cuba-16_August_2000_22:45 |publisher= Radio Havana |title= INS Awards Agents Who Rescued Elian Gonzalez | date= August 2000| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120218073045/http://www.radiohc.org/Distributions/Radio_Havana_English/.2000/2000_aug/Radio_Havana_Cuba-16_August_2000_22%3A45 |archive-date= February 18, 2012 }} ''(See awards to INS for bravery)''</ref> approached the house, knocked on the door, and identified themselves. When no one responded, they entered. At the same time, pepper-spray and mace were employed against persons outside who attempted to interfere.<ref name="court0514375">{{cite web|url=http://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/ops/200514375.pdf |title=D. C. Docket No. 03-20588-CV-KMM |publisher=[[United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit]] |date=August 16, 2006 |access-date= June 18, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070615032444/http://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/ops/200514375.pdf |archive-date=June 15, 2007 }}</ref> In the confusion, [[Armando Gutierrez]] called in [[Alan Diaz]], of the [[Associated Press]], to enter the house and enter a room with González, his great uncle's wife Angela Lázaro, her niece, the niece's young son, and Donato Dalrymple (one of the two men who had rescued him from the ocean). They waited in the room listening to agents searching the house. Diaz took a widely publicized photograph of a border patrol agent confronting Dalrymple and the boy. INS subsequently flew Elian out of Miami aboard a [[Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System]] aircraft.<ref name=":0" />
In the pre-dawn hours of Saturday, April 22, agents of the [[United States Border Patrol]]'s special [[BORTAC]] unit, as part of an operation in which more than 130 [[Immigration and Naturalization Service]] personnel took part,<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.radiohc.org/Distributions/Radio_Havana_English/.2000/2000_aug/Radio_Havana_Cuba-16_August_2000_22:45 |publisher= Radio Havana |title= INS Awards Agents Who Rescued Elian Gonzalez | date= August 2000| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120218073045/http://www.radiohc.org/Distributions/Radio_Havana_English/.2000/2000_aug/Radio_Havana_Cuba-16_August_2000_22%3A45 |archive-date= February 18, 2012 }} ''(See awards to INS for bravery)''</ref> approached the house, knocked on the door, and identified themselves. When no one responded, they entered. At the same time, pepper-spray and mace were employed against persons outside who attempted to interfere.<ref name="court0514375">{{cite web|url=http://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/ops/200514375.pdf |title=D. C. Docket No. 03-20588-CV-KMM |publisher=[[United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit]] |date=August 16, 2006 |access-date= June 18, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070615032444/http://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/ops/200514375.pdf |archive-date=June 15, 2007 }}</ref> In the confusion, [[Armando Gutierrez]] called in [[Alan Diaz]], of the [[Associated Press]], to enter the house and enter a room with González, his great uncle's wife Angela Lázaro, her niece, the niece's young son, and Donato Dalrymple (one of the two men who had rescued him from the ocean). They waited in the room listening to agents searching the house. Diaz took a widely publicized photograph of a border patrol agent confronting Dalrymple and the boy. INS subsequently flew Elian out of Miami aboard a [[Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System]] aircraft.<ref name=":0" />
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INS also stated in the days after the raid that they had identified as many as two dozen persons who were "prepared to thwart any government operation", some of whom had [[concealed weapon]]s while others had [[criminal record]]s.<ref>{{cite news | url= http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4196/is_20000428/ai_n10603512 | title=Officials feared danger in Elian raid | newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] ([[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]]) | first=Karen | last=Deyoung | date=April 28, 2000 | access-date=June 18, 2007}}{{dead link| date= November 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://judiciary.senate.gov/oldsite/682000_pjl5.htm |title=Statement of Patrick Leahy, Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee, Concerning the Elian Gonzalez Case Subpoena |author-link=Patrick Leahy |first=Patrick |last=Leahy |publisher=[[United States Senate]] |date=June 8, 2000 |access-date=June 18, 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070601002407/http://judiciary.senate.gov/oldsite/682000_pjl5.htm |archive-date=June 1, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
INS also stated in the days after the raid that they had identified as many as two dozen persons who were "prepared to thwart any government operation", some of whom had [[concealed weapon]]s while others had [[criminal record]]s.<ref>{{cite news | url= http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4196/is_20000428/ai_n10603512 | title=Officials feared danger in Elian raid | newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] ([[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]]) | first=Karen | last=Deyoung | date=April 28, 2000 | access-date=June 18, 2007}}{{dead link| date= November 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://judiciary.senate.gov/oldsite/682000_pjl5.htm |title=Statement of Patrick Leahy, Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee, Concerning the Elian Gonzalez Case Subpoena |author-link=Patrick Leahy |first=Patrick |last=Leahy |publisher=[[United States Senate]] |date=June 8, 2000 |access-date=June 18, 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070601002407/http://judiciary.senate.gov/oldsite/682000_pjl5.htm |archive-date=June 1, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>


Approximately 100 people protested against the raid as it took place, with some calling the INS agents "assassins".<ref>{{cite news| url= http://archives.cnn.com/2000/US/04/22/cuba.boy.05/index.html |title= Federal agents seize Elian in predawn raid: Boy to be reunited with his father in Maryland| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130814042544/http://archives.cnn.com/2000/US/04/22/cuba.boy.05/index.html |archive-date=August 14, 2013 |date= April 22, 2000| publisher= CNN}}</ref>{{clarify|reason=At what the people were protesting? Why?|date=May 2016}} Then-New York City Mayor [[Rudy Giuliani]] described BORTAC agents involved in the seizure of Elian as "[[Sturmabteilung|storm troopers]]" at least six times. [[Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association]] reacted with "strong disgust and dismay" to the Nazi imagery and demanded Giuliani's apology. [[Hillary Clinton]], then running against Giuliani for the [[2000 United States Senate election in New York]], agreed with FLEOA in asking for an apology. Giuliani refused to apologize, although he stated his criticism was aimed at President Clinton and Attorney General Reno. He later withdrew from the race for unrelated reasons.<ref name="nyti_Mayo">{{Cite web |title=Mayor Says 'Storm Trooper' Reflects Truth in Miami Case |author=Elisabeth Bumiller |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=26 April 2000 |access-date=26 June 2020 |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/26/nyregion/mayor-says-storm-trooper-reflects-truth-in-miami-case.html}}</ref>
Approximately 100 people protested against the raid as it took place, with some calling the INS agents "assassins".<ref>{{cite news| url= http://archives.cnn.com/2000/US/04/22/cuba.boy.05/index.html |title= Federal agents seize Elian in predawn raid: Boy to be reunited with his father in Maryland| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130814042544/http://archives.cnn.com/2000/US/04/22/cuba.boy.05/index.html |archive-date=August 14, 2013 |date= April 22, 2000| publisher= CNN}}</ref>{{clarify|reason=At what the people were protesting? Why?|date=May 2016}} Then-New York City Mayor [[Rudy Giuliani]] described BORTAC agents involved in the seizure of Elian as "[[Sturmabteilung|storm troopers]]" at least six times. [[Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association]] reacted with "strong disgust and dismay" to the Nazi imagery and demanded Giuliani's apology. [[Hillary Clinton]], then running against Giuliani for the [[2000 United States Senate election in New York]], agreed with FLEOA in asking for an apology. Giuliani refused to apologize, although he stated his criticism was aimed at President Clinton and Attorney General Reno. He later withdrew from the race for unrelated reasons.<ref name="nyti_Mayo">{{Cite web |title=Mayor Says 'Storm Trooper' Reflects Truth in Miami Case |author=Elisabeth Bumiller |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=26 April 2000 |access-date=26 June 2020 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/26/nyregion/mayor-says-storm-trooper-reflects-truth-in-miami-case.html |archive-date=June 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200628144514/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/26/nyregion/mayor-says-storm-trooper-reflects-truth-in-miami-case.html |url-status=live }}</ref>


Public opinion about the INS raid on the Miami González's house was widely polarized. There were two major focuses in media coverage of the event: the raid and the family reunions.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/media/jan-june00/elian_4-24.html | title=Dueling Images | publisher=[[Public Broadcasting Service]] | first=Terence | last=Smith | author-link=Terence Smith (journalist) | date=April 24, 2000 | access-date=June 18, 2007 | archive-date=December 10, 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071210202635/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/media/jan-june00/elian_4-24.html | url-status=dead }}</ref> A ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine issue showed a photo of a joyful González being reunited with his father (the caption says "Papa!"), while ''[[Newsweek]]'' ran an issue that focused on the raid, entitled "Seizing Elián".<ref>{{cite news | url= http://enews.tufts.edu/stories/042400ElianNeedsPrivacy.htm | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20030713024655/http://enews.tufts.edu/stories/042400ElianNeedsPrivacy.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=July 13, 2003 | title=Tufts Expert Says Privacy, Emotional Support Needed for Elian Gonzalez | publisher=[[Tufts University|Tufts]] E-News | date=April 24, 2000 | access-date=June 18, 2007 }}</ref>
Public opinion about the INS raid on the Miami González's house was widely polarized. There were two major focuses in media coverage of the event: the raid and the family reunions.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/media/jan-june00/elian_4-24.html | title=Dueling Images | publisher=[[Public Broadcasting Service]] | first=Terence | last=Smith | author-link=Terence Smith (journalist) | date=April 24, 2000 | access-date=June 18, 2007 | archive-date=December 10, 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071210202635/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/media/jan-june00/elian_4-24.html | url-status=dead }}</ref> A ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine issue showed a photo of a joyful González being reunited with his father (the caption says "Papa!"), while ''[[Newsweek]]'' ran an issue that focused on the raid, entitled "Seizing Elián".<ref>{{cite news | url= http://enews.tufts.edu/stories/042400ElianNeedsPrivacy.htm | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20030713024655/http://enews.tufts.edu/stories/042400ElianNeedsPrivacy.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=July 13, 2003 | title=Tufts Expert Says Privacy, Emotional Support Needed for Elian Gonzalez | publisher=[[Tufts University|Tufts]] E-News | date=April 24, 2000 | access-date=June 18, 2007 }}</ref>

The struggle between González's American family and his father was portrayed in the 2000 television film, ''A Family In Crisis: The Elian Gonzales Story'', which starred [[Esai Morales]] as Elián's father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez; [[Laura Harring]] as Elián's cousin Marisleysis Gonzalez; and Alec Roberts in the title role.<ref>{{IMDb title|id=0255994|title=A Family In Crisis: The Elian Gonzales Story}}</ref>


===Return to father's custody===
===Return to father's custody===
Four hours after he was taken from the house in Miami, González and his father were reunited at [[Andrews Air Force Base]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=DeYoung |first=Karen |title=Raid Reunites Elian and Father; U.S. Agents Seize Boy From Relatives and Fly Him Here; Protests Erupt in Miami |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=April 23, 2000 |page=A01}}</ref> The next day, the White House released a photograph showing a smiling González reunited with his father, which the Miami relatives disputed by stating that it was a fake González in the photograph.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Robles |first1=Frances |last2=Wheat |first2=Jack |title=Reunion Photo Stirs Controversy |work=[[Miami Herald]] |date=April 24, 2000 |page=7A}}</ref> Later, González and his family were taken to the [[Aspen Institute Wye River Conference Centers|Aspen Institute Wye River Conference Center]] in [[Maryland]] (formerly known as "[[Wye House|Wye Plantation]]"). The media were barred from access to the family.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Raid critics still plan Senate hearings on Elian |date=April 26, 2000 |work=[[The Palm Beach Post]] |page=10A}}</ref>
Four hours after he was taken from the house in Miami, González and his father were reunited at [[Andrews Air Force Base]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=DeYoung |first=Karen |title=Raid Reunites Elian and Father; U.S. Agents Seize Boy From Relatives and Fly Him Here; Protests Erupt in Miami |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=April 23, 2000 |page=A01}}</ref> The next day, the White House released a photograph showing a smiling González reunited with his father, which the Miami relatives disputed by stating that it was a fake González in the photograph.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Robles |first1=Frances |last2=Wheat |first2=Jack |title=Reunion Photo Stirs Controversy |work=[[Miami Herald]] |date=April 24, 2000 |page=7A}}</ref> Later, González and his family were taken to the [[Aspen Institute Wye River Conference Centers|Aspen Institute Wye River Conference Center]] in [[Maryland]] (formerly known as "[[Wye House|Wye Plantation]]"). The media were barred from access to the family.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Raid critics still plan Senate hearings on Elian |date=April 26, 2000 |work=[[The Palm Beach Post]] |page=10A}}</ref>


While the family was still at Andrews, the Miami González relatives flew to Washington demanding to see Elián. They and their escort, New Hampshire senator [[Robert C. Smith|Bob Smith]], were turned away from the base by guards.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Thomas |first=Evan |date=May 1, 2000 |title=Raid and Reunion |newspaper=[[Newsweek]] |url=http://www.newsweek.com/raid-and-reunion-157465 |access-date=April 14, 2015}}</ref> The May 5, 2000, ''[[Miami Herald]]'' reported that González was joined by his classmates (without their parents) and his teacher from his hometown, [[Cárdenas, Matanzas, Cuba|Cárdenas]]. The newspaper ''[[Granma (newspaper)|Granma]]'' released pictures of Elián in his [[José Martí Pioneer Organization]] uniform.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Borger |first=Julian |title=Soft landing for castaway Elian as Cuba rolls out tattered red carpet |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=May 30, 2000}}</ref> On May 6, 2000, attorney Craig took González and Juan Miguel to a dinner in the [[Georgetown (Washington, D.C.)|Georgetown]] neighborhood of Washington, DC, hosted by Smith and [[Elizabeth Frawley Bagley|Elizabeth Bagley]].<ref>{{Cite news |last= Sands |first=David R. |title=Elian's dad lauds court custody ruling |date=June 2, 2000 |work=[[The Washington Times]]}}</ref>
While the family was still at Andrews, the Miami González relatives flew to Washington demanding to see Elián. They and their escort, New Hampshire senator [[Robert C. Smith|Bob Smith]], were turned away from the base by guards.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Thomas |first=Evan |date=May 1, 2000 |title=Raid and Reunion |newspaper=[[Newsweek]] |url=http://www.newsweek.com/raid-and-reunion-157465 |access-date=April 14, 2015 |archive-date=October 16, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016071805/http://www.newsweek.com/raid-and-reunion-157465 |url-status=live }}</ref> The May 5, 2000, ''[[Miami Herald]]'' reported that González was joined by his classmates (without their parents) and his teacher from his hometown, [[Cárdenas, Matanzas, Cuba|Cárdenas]]. The newspaper ''[[Granma (newspaper)|Granma]]'' released pictures of Elián in his [[José Martí Pioneer Organization]] uniform.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Borger |first=Julian |title=Soft landing for castaway Elian as Cuba rolls out tattered red carpet |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=May 30, 2000}}</ref> On May 6, 2000, attorney Craig took González and Juan Miguel to a dinner in the [[Georgetown (Washington, D.C.)|Georgetown]] neighborhood of Washington, DC, hosted by Smith and [[Elizabeth Frawley Bagley|Elizabeth Bagley]].<ref>{{Cite news |last= Sands |first=David R. |title=Elian's dad lauds court custody ruling |date=June 2, 2000 |work=[[The Washington Times]]}}</ref>


After González was returned to his father's custody, he remained in the U.S. while the Miami relatives exhausted their legal options. A three-judge federal panel had ruled that he could not go back to Cuba until he was granted an asylum hearing, but the case turned on the right of the relatives to request that hearing on behalf of the boy.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bragg |first=Rick |title=Judges Ask Tough Questions About Cuban Boy's Interests |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 12, 2000}}</ref> On June 1, 2000, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Elián was too young to file for asylum; only his father could speak for him, and the relatives lacked [[standing (law)|legal standing]].<ref>{{Cite news|title=Court gives government and father deadline to respond in Elian Gonzalez case |publisher=[[CNN]] |date=June 15, 2000 |url= http://archives.cnn.com/2000/LAW/06/15/elian.appeal.01/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080519123940/http://archives.cnn.com/2000/LAW/06/15/elian.appeal.01/index.html |archive-date=May 19, 2008 }}</ref> On June 28, 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the decision.<ref>{{cite news |title=Supreme Court refuses to block Elian Gonzalez's return to Cuba |agency=Associated Press |date=June 28, 2000 |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-29699799.html|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121025133505/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-29699799.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 25, 2012}}</ref> In the afternoon of the same day, seven months and one week after Elián González left Cuba, he and his family, along with his classmates and teacher, boarded two chartered planes at [[Dulles International Airport]] in [[Dulles, Virginia]], for [[Jose Marti International Airport|José Martí International Airport]] in [[Havana]].<ref>{{Cite news|title=Elian Gonzalez leaves U.S. for Cuba |publisher= CNN |date=June 28, 2000 |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2000/LAW/06/28/elian.stay.03/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130828022719/http://archives.cnn.com/2000/LAW/06/28/elian.stay.03/index.html |archive-date= August 28, 2013 }}</ref>
After González was returned to his father's custody, he remained in the U.S. while the Miami relatives exhausted their legal options. A three-judge federal panel had ruled that he could not go back to Cuba until he was granted an asylum hearing, but the case turned on the right of the relatives to request that hearing on behalf of the boy.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bragg |first=Rick |title=Judges Ask Tough Questions About Cuban Boy's Interests |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 12, 2000}}</ref> On June 1, 2000, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Elián was too young to file for asylum; only his father could speak for him, and the relatives lacked [[standing (law)|legal standing]].<ref>{{Cite news|title=Court gives government and father deadline to respond in Elian Gonzalez case |publisher=[[CNN]] |date=June 15, 2000 |url= http://archives.cnn.com/2000/LAW/06/15/elian.appeal.01/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080519123940/http://archives.cnn.com/2000/LAW/06/15/elian.appeal.01/index.html |archive-date=May 19, 2008 }}</ref> On June 28, 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the decision.<ref>{{cite news |title=Supreme Court refuses to block Elian Gonzalez's return to Cuba |agency=Associated Press |date=June 28, 2000 |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-29699799.html|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121025133505/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-29699799.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 25, 2012}}</ref> In the afternoon of the same day, seven months and one week after Elián González left Cuba, he and his family, along with his classmates and teacher, boarded two chartered planes at [[Dulles International Airport]] in [[Dulles, Virginia]], for [[Jose Marti International Airport|José Martí International Airport]] in [[Havana]].<ref>{{Cite news|title=Elian Gonzalez leaves U.S. for Cuba |publisher= CNN |date=June 28, 2000 |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2000/LAW/06/28/elian.stay.03/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130828022719/http://archives.cnn.com/2000/LAW/06/28/elian.stay.03/index.html |archive-date= August 28, 2013 }}</ref>


===Political ramifications===
===Political ramifications===
{{Main|2000 United States presidential election|Battle of Ideas}}
Commentators have suggested that the Elián González affair may have been a factor in voters' decisions in the [[2000 United States presidential election]], which was decided by the [[Supreme Court of the United States|United States Supreme Court]]'s ''[[Bush v. Gore]]'' decision halting the [[2000 United States presidential election recount in Florida]] and awarding the state's 25 [[United States Electoral College|electoral votes]] to the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] candidate [[George W. Bush]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cotterell |first=Bill |title=New documentary recasts the 2000 presidential vote in Florida as the Elian election |url=https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2020/10/21/new-film-connects-2000-presidential-vote-florida-elian-gonzalez/3666051001/ |access-date=2023-05-03 |website=Tallahassee Democrat |language=en-US}}</ref> The Gonzalez case is believed to have been a major factor in Bush's narrow lead in the state as the raid caused Cuban-Americans in Florida to strongly favor him over the Democratic Party nominee [[Al Gore]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Schneider |first=William |date=2001-05-01 |title=Elián González Defeated Al Gore |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2001/05/elian-gonzalez-defeated-al-gore/377714/ |access-date=2023-05-03 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0011/08/se.01.html | publisher=CNN | access-date=May 1, 2010 | title=Special Event | archive-date=November 3, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201103234457/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0011/08/se.01.html | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F02E1DD153CF933A05750C0A9669C8B63 | work=The New York Times | title=Boy's Case Could Sway Bush-Gore Contest | first=Katharine Q. | last=Seelye | date=March 30, 2000 | access-date=May 1, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1062 |title=The Hispanic Vote and the U.S. Presidential Election |date= November 3, 2004 |publisher= Knowledge@Wharton Network, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania| website= wharton.upenn.edu |access-date=October 3, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/23/books/review/23alter.html?_r=1&oref=slogin | work=The New York Times | title=Taking Sides | first=Jonathan | last=Alter | date=April 23, 2006 | access-date=May 1, 2010}}</ref> Polls in 2001 indicated that Bush captured 80 percent of the Florida Cuban-American vote in 2000, 50,000 votes more than the previous Republican nominee [[Bob Dole]]'s 65 percent of the Florida Cuban-American vote in the [[1996 United States presidential election]].<ref name=":1" /> Later, the 2020 [[HBO]] documentary ''[[537 Votes]]'' argued that Bush may have achieved as high as 88 percent of the Florida Cuban-American vote.<ref name=":1" /> Gore's handling of the matter may have angered the predominantly Republican Cuban community over the boy's return to Cuba.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://mfamedia.com/elian.htm| first= Ted| last= Marks| date= May 2000| website= MFAMedia.com | title= The Saga of Elian Gonzalez: A News Media Riot?}}</ref> Gore initially supported Republican legislation to give the boy and his father permanent residence status,<ref>1. [106th] Whereas the mother of Elian Gonzalez sacrificed her life in fleeing Cuba to bring her son to a free country; (Introduced in House) [H.RES.480.IH]
Commentators have suggested that the Elián González affair may have been a factor in voters' decisions in the [[2000 United States presidential election]], which was decided by the [[Supreme Court of the United States|United States Supreme Court]]'s ''[[Bush v. Gore]]'' decision halting the [[2000 United States presidential election recount in Florida]] and awarding the state's 25 [[United States Electoral College|electoral votes]] to the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] candidate [[George W. Bush]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cotterell |first=Bill |title=New documentary recasts the 2000 presidential vote in Florida as the Elian election |url=https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2020/10/21/new-film-connects-2000-presidential-vote-florida-elian-gonzalez/3666051001/ |access-date=2023-05-03 |website=Tallahassee Democrat |language=en-US |archive-date=January 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230129215125/https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2020/10/21/new-film-connects-2000-presidential-vote-florida-elian-gonzalez/3666051001/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Gonzalez case is believed to have been a major factor in Bush's narrow lead in the state as the raid caused Cuban-Americans in Florida to strongly favor him over the Democratic Party nominee [[Al Gore]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Schneider |first=William |date=2001-05-01 |title=Elián González Defeated Al Gore |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2001/05/elian-gonzalez-defeated-al-gore/377714/ |access-date=2023-05-03 |website=The Atlantic |language=en |archive-date=June 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230603111025/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2001/05/elian-gonzalez-defeated-al-gore/377714/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0011/08/se.01.html | publisher=CNN | access-date=May 1, 2010 | title=Special Event | archive-date=November 3, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201103234457/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0011/08/se.01.html | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F02E1DD153CF933A05750C0A9669C8B63 | work=The New York Times | title=Boy's Case Could Sway Bush-Gore Contest | first=Katharine Q. | last=Seelye | date=March 30, 2000 | access-date=May 1, 2010 | archive-date=June 20, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240620051152/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/03/30/us/boy-s-case-could-sway-bush-gore-contest.html | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1062 |title= The Hispanic Vote and the U.S. Presidential Election |date= November 3, 2004 |publisher= Knowledge@Wharton Network, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania |website= wharton.upenn.edu |access-date= October 3, 2008 |archive-date= April 13, 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130413095211/http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1062 |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/23/books/review/23alter.html?_r=1&oref=slogin | work=The New York Times | title=Taking Sides | first=Jonathan | last=Alter | date=April 23, 2006 | access-date=May 1, 2010 | archive-date=January 2, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102012513/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/23/books/review/23alter.html?_r=1&oref=slogin | url-status=live }}</ref> Polls in 2001 indicated that Bush captured 80 percent of the Florida Cuban-American vote in 2000, 50,000 votes more than the previous Republican nominee [[Bob Dole]]'s 65 percent of the Florida Cuban-American vote in the [[1996 United States presidential election]].<ref name=":1" /> Later, the 2020 [[HBO]] documentary ''[[537 Votes]]'' argued that Bush may have achieved as high as 88 percent of the Florida Cuban-American vote.<ref name=":1" /> Gore's handling of the matter may have angered the predominantly Republican Cuban community over the boy's return to Cuba.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://mfamedia.com/elian.htm| first= Ted| last= Marks| date= May 2000| website= MFAMedia.com| title= The Saga of Elian Gonzalez: A News Media Riot?| access-date= December 14, 2007| archive-date= August 1, 2019| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190801003828/http://mfamedia.com/elian.htm| url-status= live}}</ref> Gore initially supported Republican legislation to give the boy and his father permanent residence status,<ref>1. [106th] Whereas the mother of Elian Gonzalez sacrificed her life in fleeing Cuba to bring her son to a free country; (Introduced in House) [H.RES.480.IH]
2. [106th] Expressing the sense of Congress that Elian Gonzalez should be reunited with his father, Juan Gonzalez of Cuba. (Introduced in Senate) [S.CON.RES.79.IS]
2. [106th] Expressing the sense of Congress that Elian Gonzalez should be reunited with his father, Juan Gonzalez of Cuba. (Introduced in Senate) [S.CON.RES.79.IS]
3 . [106th] Expressing the sense of Congress that Elian Gonzalez should be reunited with his father, Juan Gonzalez of Cuba. (Introduced in House) [H.CON.RES.240.IH]
3 . [106th] Expressing the sense of Congress that Elian Gonzalez should be reunited with his father, Juan Gonzalez of Cuba. (Introduced in House) [H.CON.RES.240.IH]
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5. [106th] For the relief of Elian Gonzalez. (Introduced in House) [H.R.3532.IH]
5. [106th] For the relief of Elian Gonzalez. (Introduced in House) [H.R.3532.IH]
6. [106th] For the relief of Elian Gonzalez-Brotons. (Placed on Calendar in Senate)[S.1999.PCS ][PDF]
6. [106th] For the relief of Elian Gonzalez-Brotons. (Placed on Calendar in Senate)[S.1999.PCS ][PDF]
7. [106th] For the relief of Elian Gonzalez-Brotons. (Introduced in House) [H.R.3531.IH]</ref> but later supported the administration position. He was attacked by both sides in the dispute for his equivocal position.<ref>{{cite news|last=Clymer|first=Adam|title=While Conservatives and Liberals React, Gore and George Bush Hedge on Ruling|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE5DC103CF931A35755C0A9669C8B63| work= The New York Times |date= June 2, 2000 |access-date= June 15, 2008}}</ref>
7. [106th] For the relief of Elian Gonzalez-Brotons. (Introduced in House) [H.R.3531.IH]</ref> but later supported the administration position. He was attacked by both sides in the dispute for his equivocal position.<ref>{{cite news|last=Clymer|first=Adam|title=While Conservatives and Liberals React, Gore and George Bush Hedge on Ruling|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE5DC103CF931A35755C0A9669C8B63|work=The New York Times|date=June 2, 2000|access-date=June 15, 2008|archive-date=June 20, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240620051259/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/02/us/elian-gonzalez-case-politics-while-conservatives-liberals-react-gore-bush-hedge.html|url-status=live}}</ref>


In Cuba, the Elián González matter generated popular mobilization across the island seeking González's return.<ref name=":0222">{{Cite book |last=Cederlöf |first=Gustav |title=The Low-Carbon Contradiction: Energy Transition, Geopolitics, and the Infrastructural State in Cuba |date=2023 |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |isbn=978-0-520-39313-4 |series=Critical environments: nature, science, and politics |location=Oakland, California}}</ref>{{Rp|pages=138-139}} Acting on the popular sentiment, Fidel Castro launched a campaign called the Battle of Ideas, which centered on a series of educational initiatives designed to advance socialist ideals including the revolutionary [[New Man (utopian concept)|New Man]].<ref name=":0222" />{{Rp|page=139}}
In Cuba, the Elián González matter generated popular mobilization across the island seeking González's return.<ref name=":0222">{{Cite book |last=Cederlöf |first=Gustav |title=The Low-Carbon Contradiction: Energy Transition, Geopolitics, and the Infrastructural State in Cuba |date=2023 |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |isbn=978-0-520-39313-4 |series=Critical environments: nature, science, and politics |location=Oakland, California}}</ref>{{Rp|pages=138-139}} Acting on the popular sentiment, Fidel Castro launched a campaign called the Battle of Ideas, which centered on a series of educational initiatives designed to advance socialist ideals including the revolutionary [[New Man (utopian concept)|New Man]].<ref name=":0222" />{{Rp|page=139}}
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==Life in Cuba==
==Life in Cuba==
=== Youth and schooling ===
=== Youth and schooling ===
After his return to Cuba, Elián González lived with his father, stepmother, and three brothers in [[Cárdenas, Cuba|Cárdenas]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Gonazelez |first=David |date=July 8, 2000 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/07/08/world/cardenas-journal-the-town-that-s-proud-to-say-elian-lives-here.html |title=Cardenas Journal; The Town That's Proud to Say Elian Lives Here| work= The New York Times}}</ref><ref name=ABCNews2015>{{cite news |last=Avila |first=Jim |author-link=Jim Avila |date=21 May 2015 |url= https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/elian-gonzalez-now-grown-opens-life-cuba-31197618 |title= Elian Gonzalez, Now Grown, Opens Up About Life in Cuba |format=Video |work=[[Nightline]] |publisher=[[ABC News]] |access-date= 11 May 2020}}</ref> where his father, Juan Miguel, was a waiter at an Italian restaurant at Josone Park,<ref>{{cite news |last=Sequera |first=Vivian |date=November 23, 2000 |agency=[[Associated Press]] |work=[[The Topeka Capital-Journal]] |via=cjonline.com |url=http://cjonline.com/stories/112300/new_elian.shtml |title=One year after fateful crossing, Elian is fading memory in Cuba |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401064220/http://cjonline.com/stories/112300/new_elian.shtml |archive-date=April 1, 2016}}</ref> in [[Varadero]], near Cárdenas. Elián's father was interviewed at the restaurant in 2004 by [[Keith Morrison]] of the [[NBC News]] program ''[[Dateline NBC]]'' and ''[[Cover to Cover (2005 TV program)|Cover to Cover]]'' on [[CNBC]]. Juan Miguel filmed a home video on which González was shown doing his arithmetic homework with Juan Miguel in their dining room, going to bed in his bedroom with his two younger half-brothers, and attending karate lessons.<ref>{{cite news| author-link= Keith Morrison| last= Morrison| first= Keith| date= March 20, 2016| url= https://www.nbcnews.com/video/dateline/5575691#5575691 |title= Video of Elian Gonzales| work= [[Dateline NBC]]| via= nbcnews.com}}</ref>
After his return to Cuba, Elián González lived with his father, stepmother, and three brothers in [[Cárdenas, Cuba|Cárdenas]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Gonazelez |first=David |date=July 8, 2000 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/07/08/world/cardenas-journal-the-town-that-s-proud-to-say-elian-lives-here.html |title=Cardenas Journal; The Town That's Proud to Say Elian Lives Here |work=The New York Times |access-date=February 15, 2017 |archive-date=October 6, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006054125/http://www.nytimes.com/2000/07/08/world/cardenas-journal-the-town-that-s-proud-to-say-elian-lives-here.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=ABCNews2015>{{cite news |last=Avila |first=Jim |author-link=Jim Avila |date=21 May 2015 |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/elian-gonzalez-now-grown-opens-life-cuba-31197618 |title=Elian Gonzalez, Now Grown, Opens Up About Life in Cuba |format=Video |work=[[Nightline]] |publisher=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |access-date=11 May 2020 |archive-date=April 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200423165705/https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/elian-gonzalez-now-grown-opens-life-cuba-31197618 |url-status=live }}</ref> where his father, Juan Miguel, was a waiter at an Italian restaurant at Josone Park,<ref>{{cite news |last=Sequera |first=Vivian |date=November 23, 2000 |agency=[[Associated Press]] |work=[[The Topeka Capital-Journal]] |via=cjonline.com |url=http://cjonline.com/stories/112300/new_elian.shtml |title=One year after fateful crossing, Elian is fading memory in Cuba |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401064220/http://cjonline.com/stories/112300/new_elian.shtml |archive-date=April 1, 2016}}</ref> in [[Varadero]], near Cárdenas. Elián's father was interviewed at the restaurant in 2004 by [[Keith Morrison]] of the [[NBC News]] program ''[[Dateline NBC]]'' and ''[[Cover to Cover (2005 TV program)|Cover to Cover]]'' on [[CNBC]]. Juan Miguel filmed a home video on which González was shown doing his arithmetic homework with Juan Miguel in their dining room, going to bed in his bedroom with his two younger half-brothers, and attending karate lessons.<ref>{{cite news| author-link= Keith Morrison| last= Morrison| first= Keith| date= March 20, 2016| url= https://www.nbcnews.com/video/dateline/5575691#5575691| title= Video of Elian Gonzales| work= [[Dateline NBC]]| via= nbcnews.com| access-date= April 16, 2020| archive-date= August 8, 2020| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200808150933/http://www.nbcnews.com/video/dateline/5575691#5575691| url-status= live}}</ref>


Morrison's TV report also showed an 18th-century building in Cárdenas which was previously used as a [[fire station]] and which was renovated and inaugurated on July 14, 2001, as a museum, called ''Museo de la Batalla de Ideas'' ("Museum of the Battle of Ideas"), which includes an exhibition room dedicated to González, which houses a life-size bronze statue of González raising a clenched fist. The former González home in Miami has similarly been turned into a museum, with the boy's bedroom left unaltered.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1612785.stm |title=Elian's Miami home turned into shrine |publisher=BBC News |date=October 22, 2001 |access-date=June 18, 2007}}</ref> Juan Miguel is also a member of the [[National Assembly of People's Power]] and has attended events for the [[Communist Party of Cuba]] with González, who has been called up to the stage to meet [[Fidel Castro]].
Morrison's TV report also showed an 18th-century building in Cárdenas which was previously used as a [[fire station]] and which was renovated and inaugurated on July 14, 2001, as a museum, called ''Museo de la Batalla de Ideas'' ("Museum of the Battle of Ideas"), which includes an exhibition room dedicated to González, which houses a life-size bronze statue of González raising a clenched fist. The former González home in Miami has similarly been turned into a museum, with the boy's bedroom left unaltered.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1612785.stm |title=Elian's Miami home turned into shrine |publisher=BBC News |date=October 22, 2001 |access-date=June 18, 2007 |archive-date=September 18, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190918215245/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1612785.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> Juan Miguel is also a member of the [[National Assembly of People's Power]] and has attended events for the [[Communist Party of Cuba]] with González, who has been called up to the stage to meet [[Fidel Castro]].


In September 2005, González was interviewed by ''60 Minutes'' and stated during the interview that Fidel Castro was a friend, and that he considers Castro "not only as a friend but as a father"; González's aunt, Angela González, said she doubted whether the interview represented his true beliefs because of the alleged [[Censorship in Cuba|controls imposed by Cuba on information]].<ref name="ElianInterview2005">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4299294.stm |title=Elian interview sparks Miami row |publisher=BBC News |date=September 30, 2005 |access-date=July 18, 2006}}</ref> In December 2006, an ill Fidel Castro was unable to attend González's 13th birthday celebration, so his brother [[Raúl Castro|Raúl]] attended instead.<ref>{{cite news |title=Raul Castro Attends Elian Gonzalez's 13th Birthday Party |url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,234960,00.html|publisher=Fox News Channel |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=December 6, 2006 |access-date=June 15, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021030431/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,234960,00.html |archive-date=October 21, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
In September 2005, González was interviewed by ''60 Minutes'' and stated during the interview that Fidel Castro was a friend, and that he considers Castro "not only as a friend but as a father"; González's aunt, Angela González, said she doubted whether the interview represented his true beliefs because of the [[Censorship in Cuba|controls imposed by Cuba on information]].<ref name="ElianInterview2005">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4299294.stm |title=Elian interview sparks Miami row |publisher=BBC News |date=September 30, 2005 |access-date=July 18, 2006 |archive-date=December 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201211000600/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4299294.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> In December 2006, an ill Fidel Castro was unable to attend González's 13th birthday celebration, so his brother [[Raúl Castro|Raúl]] attended instead.<ref>{{cite news |title=Raul Castro Attends Elian Gonzalez's 13th Birthday Party |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/raul-castro-attends-elian-gonzalezs-13th-birthday-party|publisher=Fox News Channel |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=December 6, 2006 |access-date=June 15, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021030431/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,234960,00.html |archive-date=October 21, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>


On August 16, 2006, the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit]] affirmed the dismissal of an excessive force lawsuit brought by Dalrymple and others against the federal government and Reno.<ref name="court0514375"/>
On August 16, 2006, the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit]] affirmed the dismissal of an excessive force lawsuit brought by Dalrymple and others against the federal government and Reno.<ref name="court0514375"/>


González joined the [[Young Communist League (Cuba)|Young Communist Union of Cuba]] in June 2008 shortly after graduating from junior high school. At age 15, he began military school.<ref>{{cite news |title=Elian Gonzalez joins Cuba's youth Communists |publisher=CNN |agency=Associated Press |date=June 15, 2008 |url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/06/15/gonzalez.ap/index.html |access-date=June 15, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080616013027/http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/06/15/gonzalez.ap/index.html |archive-date=June 16, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7455748.stm |work=BBC News| title=Elian 'joins Cuba's communists' | date=June 16, 2008 | access-date=May 1, 2010}}</ref> In a November 2013 speech, González described his time in the United States as "very sad times for me, which marked me for my whole life", asserting that the [[Cuban Adjustment Act]] led to the denial of his rights, including "the right to be together with my father, the right to keep my nationality and to remain in my cultural context".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2013/11/18/elian-gonzalez-my-time-in-us-marked-me-for-my-whole-life/|title=Elián González: My Time In The U.S. 'Marked Me For My Whole Life'|date=November 19, 2013|publisher=Fox News Latino|access-date=November 19, 2013|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131120100146/http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2013/11/18/elian-gonzalez-my-time-in-us-marked-me-for-my-whole-life/ |archive-date= November 20, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>
González joined the [[Young Communist League (Cuba)|Young Communist Union of Cuba]] in June 2008 shortly after graduating from junior high school. At age 15, he began military school.<ref>{{cite news |title=Elian Gonzalez joins Cuba's youth Communists |publisher=CNN |agency=Associated Press |date=June 15, 2008 |url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/06/15/gonzalez.ap/index.html |access-date=June 15, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080616013027/http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/06/15/gonzalez.ap/index.html |archive-date=June 16, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7455748.stm | work=BBC News | title=Elian 'joins Cuba's communists' | date=June 16, 2008 | access-date=May 1, 2010 | archive-date=November 9, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109031143/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7455748.stm | url-status=live }}</ref> In a November 2013 speech, González described his time in the United States as "very sad times for me, which marked me for my whole life", asserting that the [[Cuban Adjustment Act]] led to the denial of his rights, including "the right to be together with my father, the right to keep my nationality and to remain in my cultural context".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2013/11/18/elian-gonzalez-my-time-in-us-marked-me-for-my-whole-life/|title=Elián González: My Time In The U.S. 'Marked Me For My Whole Life'|date=November 19, 2013|publisher=Fox News Latino|access-date=November 19, 2013|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131120100146/http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2013/11/18/elian-gonzalez-my-time-in-us-marked-me-for-my-whole-life/ |archive-date= November 20, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>


=== College and political career ===
=== College and political career ===
In the 2010s, González studied to be an [[Industrial engineering|industrial engineer]], and hoped to marry his high school girlfriend and fiancée after finishing college. In July 2016, he received a degree in [[industrial engineering]] from the [[University of Matanzas]], and read a letter to Fidel Castro from his graduating class, vowing "to fight from whatever trench the revolution demands".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2016/07/15/elian-gonzalez-onetime-political-football-now-college-grad-in-cuba/|title=Elián González, onetime political football, now a college grad in Cuba|date=July 15, 2016|publisher=Fox News Latino|access-date=July 16, 2016| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160715224451/http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2016/07/15/elian-gonzalez-onetime-political-football-now-college-grad-in-cuba/|archive-date=July 15, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> After graduating in 2016, González began working as a technology specialist at a state-run company that makes large plastic water tanks.<ref name="oppmann2017">{{cite news| title= Cuba's Elián González says he wants to reconcile with his Miami relatives| first= Patrick |last= Oppmann| url= https://www.cnn.com/2017/08/24/world/elian-gonzalez-interview/index.html| publisher= CNN| date= 24 August 2017| access-date= 11 May 2020}}</ref> On [[Father's Day]] in 2020, González announced that he and his fiancée were expecting a daughter within the following months.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/21/americas/elian-gonzalez-cuba-expecting-baby-trnd/index.html|title=On Father's Day, Cuba's Elian Gonzalez announces he's set to become a dad|first1=Patrick|last1=Oppmann|publisher=CNN|date=June 21, 2020}}</ref>
In the 2010s, González studied to be an [[Industrial engineering|industrial engineer]], and hoped to marry his high school girlfriend and fiancée after finishing college. In July 2016, he received a degree in [[industrial engineering]] from the [[University of Matanzas]], and read a letter to Fidel Castro from his graduating class, vowing "to fight from whatever trench the revolution demands".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2016/07/15/elian-gonzalez-onetime-political-football-now-college-grad-in-cuba/|title=Elián González, onetime political football, now a college grad in Cuba|date=July 15, 2016|publisher=Fox News Latino|access-date=July 16, 2016| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160715224451/http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2016/07/15/elian-gonzalez-onetime-political-football-now-college-grad-in-cuba/|archive-date=July 15, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> After graduating in 2016, González began working as a technology specialist at a state-run company that makes large plastic water tanks.<ref name="oppmann2017">{{cite news| title= Cuba's Elián González says he wants to reconcile with his Miami relatives| first= Patrick| last= Oppmann| url= https://www.cnn.com/2017/08/24/world/elian-gonzalez-interview/index.html| publisher= CNN| date= 24 August 2017| access-date= 11 May 2020| archive-date= June 30, 2019| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190630053605/https://www.cnn.com/2017/08/24/world/elian-gonzalez-interview/index.html| url-status= live}}</ref> On [[Father's Day]] in 2020, González announced that he and his fiancée were expecting a daughter within the following months.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/21/americas/elian-gonzalez-cuba-expecting-baby-trnd/index.html|title=On Father's Day, Cuba's Elian Gonzalez announces he's set to become a dad|first1=Patrick|last1=Oppmann|publisher=CNN|date=June 21, 2020|access-date=June 22, 2020|archive-date=June 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200622042633/https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/21/americas/elian-gonzalez-cuba-expecting-baby-trnd/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>


In 2013 González led the Cuban delegation to the 18th [[World Festival of Youth and Students]] in [[Quito]], [[Ecuador]]. In an interview with [[CNN en Español]] he blamed his mother's death on economic impact of the [[United States embargo against Cuba]], which he held to be responsible for the economic underdevelopment of the country.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Oppmann |first=Andres Lopez Cindy Y. Rodriguez,Patrick |date=2013-12-10 |title=Elian Gonzalez slams U.S. embargo against Cuba |url=https://www.cnn.com/2013/12/10/world/americas/elian-gonzalez-ecuador-interview/index.html |access-date=2023-05-03 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref> González also stated that he was happy that he did not stay in the United States, saying that he would have been manipulated into becoming a "performer" for the [[Cuban dissident movement]] and the [[Mass media in the United States|American media]].<ref name="ABCNews2015" /> He also stated, "I don't profess to have any religion, but if I did my God would be Fidel Castro."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Oppmann |first=Patrick |date=2015-10-14 |title=15 years after his rescue from inner tube, Elian Gonzalez still a hero in Cuba |url=https://www.cnn.com/2015/10/14/world/elian-gonzalez-cuba-rewind/index.html |access-date=2023-05-03 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref>
In 2013 González led the Cuban delegation to the 18th [[World Festival of Youth and Students]] in [[Quito]], [[Ecuador]]. In an interview with [[CNN en Español]] he blamed his mother's death on economic impact of the [[United States embargo against Cuba]], which he held to be responsible for the economic underdevelopment of the country.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Oppmann |first=Andres Lopez Cindy Y. Rodriguez,Patrick |date=2013-12-10 |title=Elian Gonzalez slams U.S. embargo against Cuba |url=https://www.cnn.com/2013/12/10/world/americas/elian-gonzalez-ecuador-interview/index.html |access-date=2023-05-03 |website=CNN |language=en |archive-date=June 20, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240620051313/https://www.cnn.com/2013/12/10/world/americas/elian-gonzalez-ecuador-interview/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> González also stated that he was happy that he did not stay in the United States, saying that he would have been manipulated into becoming a "performer" for the [[Cuban dissident movement]] and the [[Mass media in the United States|American media]].<ref name="ABCNews2015" /> He also stated, "I don't profess to have any religion, but if I did my God would be Fidel Castro."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Oppmann |first=Patrick |date=2015-10-14 |title=15 years after his rescue from inner tube, Elian Gonzalez still a hero in Cuba |url=https://www.cnn.com/2015/10/14/world/elian-gonzalez-cuba-rewind/index.html |access-date=2023-05-03 |website=CNN |language=en |archive-date=May 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230503222721/https://www.cnn.com/2015/10/14/world/elian-gonzalez-cuba-rewind/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>


In 2015, González was elected to lead his local [[Committees for the Defense of the Revolution|Committee for the Defense of the Revolution]], prompting speculation that he was preparing for a political career.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Oppmann |first=Patrick |date=2017-08-15 |title=Elian Gonzalez: 'I'm involved with the work of the revolution' |url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/08/15/world/cuba-elian-gonzalez-update/index.html |access-date=2023-05-03 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Londoño |first=Ernesto |date=2015-07-09 |title=Increasingly Visible, Cuba's Elián González Champions Island's Government |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/07/09/increasingly-visible-cubas-elian-gonzalez-champions-islands-government/ |access-date=2023-05-03 |website=Taking Note |language=en}}</ref> In an interview with the [[Communist Party of Cuba]]'s official newspaper ''[[Granma (newspaper)|Granma]]'' that year'','' Gonzalez defended [[socialism]] and stated that [[economic liberalization]] could result in Cuba becoming a poorer "colony" dominated by the United States. In another interview with ABC News he reiterated his condemnation of the embargo and satisfaction with the outcome of the custody dispute, but expressed hope for better [[Cuba–United States relations]] in the future and stated he would like to return to the United States one day "to give my love to the American people".<ref name="ABCNews2015" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Elián González: "The youth aren't the future, they're the present" |url=http://en.granma.cu/cuba/2015-06-29/elian-gonzalez-the-youth-arent-the-future-theyre-the-present |access-date=2023-05-03 |website=en.granma.cu |date=June 29, 2015 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bailey |first=Phillip M. |title=Elián González, known in US for international custody fight, now an elected official in Cuba |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/03/29/elian-gonzalez-now-cuba-fidel-castro/11563998002/ |access-date=2023-05-03 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Romo |first=Vanessa |date=2023-02-08 |title=Elián González nearly became an American. Now, he's poised to become a Cuban lawmaker |url=https://www.npr.org/2023/02/08/1155292248/elian-gonzalez-cuba-national-assembly-nomination |access-date=2023-03-05 |website=National Public Radio}}</ref>
In 2015, González was elected to lead his local [[Committees for the Defense of the Revolution|Committee for the Defense of the Revolution]], prompting speculation that he was preparing for a political career.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Oppmann |first=Patrick |date=2017-08-15 |title=Elian Gonzalez: 'I'm involved with the work of the revolution' |url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/08/15/world/cuba-elian-gonzalez-update/index.html |access-date=2023-05-03 |website=CNN |language=en |archive-date=June 20, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240620051152/https://www.cnn.com/2017/08/15/world/cuba-elian-gonzalez-update/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Londoño |first=Ernesto |date=2015-07-09 |title=Increasingly Visible, Cuba's Elián González Champions Island's Government |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/07/09/increasingly-visible-cubas-elian-gonzalez-champions-islands-government/ |access-date=2023-05-03 |website=Taking Note |language=en |archive-date=May 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230503222719/https://archive.nytimes.com/takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/07/09/increasingly-visible-cubas-elian-gonzalez-champions-islands-government/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In an interview with the [[Communist Party of Cuba]]'s official newspaper ''[[Granma (newspaper)|Granma]]'' that year'','' Gonzalez defended [[socialism]] and stated that [[economic liberalization]] could result in Cuba becoming a poorer "colony" dominated by the United States. In another interview with ABC News he reiterated his condemnation of the embargo and satisfaction with the outcome of the custody dispute, but expressed hope for better [[Cuba–United States relations]] in the future and stated he would like to return to the United States one day "to give my love to the American people".<ref name="ABCNews2015" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Elián González: "The youth aren't the future, they're the present" |url=http://en.granma.cu/cuba/2015-06-29/elian-gonzalez-the-youth-arent-the-future-theyre-the-present |access-date=2023-05-03 |website=en.granma.cu |date=June 29, 2015 |language=en |archive-date=March 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314045508/https://en.granma.cu/cuba/2015-06-29/elian-gonzalez-the-youth-arent-the-future-theyre-the-present |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bailey |first=Phillip M. |title=Elián González, known in US for international custody fight, now an elected official in Cuba |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/03/29/elian-gonzalez-now-cuba-fidel-castro/11563998002/ |access-date=2023-05-03 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US |archive-date=May 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230503222721/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/03/29/elian-gonzalez-now-cuba-fidel-castro/11563998002/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Romo |first=Vanessa |date=2023-02-08 |title=Elián González nearly became an American. Now, he's poised to become a Cuban lawmaker |url=https://www.npr.org/2023/02/08/1155292248/elian-gonzalez-cuba-national-assembly-nomination |access-date=2023-03-05 |website=National Public Radio |archive-date=May 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230503222719/https://www.npr.org/2023/02/08/1155292248/elian-gonzalez-cuba-national-assembly-nomination |url-status=live }}</ref>


In 2017, a documentary on his life called ''[[Elián (film)|Elián]]'' was released. The film premiered on April 19, 2017, at the [[Tribeca Film Festival]]. It opened in limited release in May, and appeared on [[CNN Films]] in August 2017.<ref>{{cite news |title=Elián documentary revisits painful chapter in Cuban-American history |url=http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article146976189.html |newspaper=[[Miami Herald]] |access-date=December 6, 2017 |archive-date=December 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171207090651/http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article146976189.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
González was nominated by the municipal assembly of [[Cárdenas, Cuba|Cárdenas]] to run as its candidate for the [[National Assembly of People's Power]] in the [[2023 Cuban parliamentary election]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-02-07 |title=Elian Gonzalez, whose custody battle stoked Cold War-era tensions, set to become Cuban lawmaker |url=https://abc7ny.com/elian-gonzalez-cuban-lawmaker-national-assembly-fidel-castro/12781811/ |access-date=2023-05-03 |website=ABC7 New York |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/07/elian-gonzalez-cuba-lawmaker|title=Elián González poised to be top Cuban lawmaker decades after Florida deportation|website=The Guardian|last1=Luscombe|first1=Richard|date=February 8, 2023|accessdate=February 8, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20230207-cuban-elian-gonzalez-rescued-at-sea-as-boy-now-running-for-parliament|title=Cuban Elian Gonzalez, rescued at sea as boy, now running for parliament|website=France24|agency=Agence France-Presse|date=February 7, 2023|accessdate=February 8, 2023}}</ref> He was elected unopposed along with the CPC's slate of 470 candidates<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-28 |title=Elian Gonzalez, from 'little rafter' in Miami to congressman in Cuba |url=https://www.wfla.com/news/world/elian-gonzalez-from-little-rafter-in-miami-to-congressman-in-cuba/ |access-date=2023-05-03 |website=WFLA |language=en-US}}</ref> and sworn into office in April 2023.<ref name="pbs">{{Cite web |title=Elián González 23 years later: From a focus of international custody battle to member of Cuba's congress |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=2023-06-30 |language=en-US |accessdate=2023-06-30 |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/elian-gonzalez-23-years-later-from-a-focus-of-international-custody-battle-to-member-of-cubas-congress |first=Andrea |last=Rodriguez |work=[[PBS NewsHour]]}}</ref>


González was nominated by the municipal assembly of [[Cárdenas, Cuba|Cárdenas]] to run as its candidate for the [[National Assembly of People's Power]] in the [[2023 Cuban parliamentary election]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-02-07 |title=Elian Gonzalez, whose custody battle stoked Cold War-era tensions, set to become Cuban lawmaker |url=https://abc7ny.com/elian-gonzalez-cuban-lawmaker-national-assembly-fidel-castro/12781811/ |access-date=2023-05-03 |website=ABC7 New York |language=en |archive-date=May 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230503222719/https://abc7ny.com/elian-gonzalez-cuban-lawmaker-national-assembly-fidel-castro/12781811/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/07/elian-gonzalez-cuba-lawmaker|title=Elián González poised to be top Cuban lawmaker decades after Florida deportation|website=The Guardian|last1=Luscombe|first1=Richard|date=February 8, 2023|accessdate=February 8, 2023|archive-date=June 20, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240620051153/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/07/elian-gonzalez-cuba-lawmaker|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20230207-cuban-elian-gonzalez-rescued-at-sea-as-boy-now-running-for-parliament|title=Cuban Elian Gonzalez, rescued at sea as boy, now running for parliament|website=France24|agency=Agence France-Presse|date=February 7, 2023|accessdate=February 8, 2023|archive-date=February 8, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208003633/https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20230207-cuban-elian-gonzalez-rescued-at-sea-as-boy-now-running-for-parliament|url-status=live}}</ref> He was elected unopposed along with the CPC's slate of 470 candidates<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-28 |title=Elian Gonzalez, from 'little rafter' in Miami to congressman in Cuba |url=https://www.wfla.com/news/world/elian-gonzalez-from-little-rafter-in-miami-to-congressman-in-cuba/ |access-date=2023-05-03 |website=WFLA |language=en-US |archive-date=May 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230503222721/https://www.wfla.com/news/world/elian-gonzalez-from-little-rafter-in-miami-to-congressman-in-cuba/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and sworn into office in April 2023.<ref name="pbs">{{Cite web |title=Elián González 23 years later: From a focus of international custody battle to member of Cuba's congress |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=2023-06-30 |language=en-US |accessdate=2023-06-30 |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/elian-gonzalez-23-years-later-from-a-focus-of-international-custody-battle-to-member-of-cubas-congress |first=Andrea |last=Rodriguez |work=[[PBS NewsHour]] |archive-date=July 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230701013227/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/elian-gonzalez-23-years-later-from-a-focus-of-international-custody-battle-to-member-of-cubas-congress |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Depictions in popular culture==
{{trivia|date=July 2023}}
The struggle between González's American family and his father was portrayed in the 2000 television film, ''A Family In Crisis: The Elian Gonzales Story'', which starred [[Esai Morales]] as Elián's father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez; [[Laura Harring]] as Elián's cousin Marisleysis Gonzalez; and Alec Roberts in the title role.<ref>{{IMDb title| id= 0255994| title= A Family In Crisis: The Elian Gonzales Story}}</ref>

''[[Elián (film)|Elián]]'' is a 2017 documentary film directed by [[Ross McDonnell]] and [[Tim Golden (journalist)|Tim Golden]], produced by Trevor Birney and executive produced by [[Alex Gibney]]. The film details González's story with exclusive interviews with him and his family in both Cuba and Miami. The film was co-produced by Fine Point Films and Jigsaw Productions and has a voiceover by [[Raul Esparza]]. The film premiered on April 19, 2017, at the [[Tribeca Film Festival]]. It opened in limited release in May, and appeared on [[CNN Films]] in August 2017.<ref>{{cite news| url= http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article146976189.html| title= Elián documentary revisits painful chapter in Cuban-American history|newspaper=[[Miami Herald]]}}</ref>

The Elián González incident was the inspiration for an episode of the TV Show ''[[JAG (TV series)|JAG]]'' (Season 6, Episode 3: "[[JAG (season 6)|Florida Straits]]" aired Oct. 17, 2000).<ref>{{IMDb title| id= 0613263| title= Florida Straits}}</ref> The episode depicts a similar fictional situation, with slight differences leading to a different legal outcome. Direct references are made to the Elián González incident as a recent event and a legal precedent. Some of the facts and details are also directly inspired from it.

The 2000 conflict centered upon González was parodied in the ''[[South Park]]'' episode "[[Quintuplets 2000]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/4549fe47579995636a05006e4b31a729|publisher=[[Associated Press]]|author=Bauder, David|title='South Park' Parodies Reno on Raid|language=en-US|url-status=live|date=April 27, 2000|access-date=April 30, 2022|archive-date=April 30, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220430191435/https://apnews.com/article/4549fe47579995636a05006e4b31a729}}</ref>

The story was parodied in the first sketch of the [[Freddie Prinze, Jr.]] hosted episode of ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'', as a part of its 25th season in 2000. González was played by [[Chris Kattan]], while his aunt and uncle were portrayed by [[Ana Gasteyer]] and [[Horatio Sanz]], respectively.

A song titled "Baby Elian" was released by the [[Manic Street Preachers]] in 2001 along with their album ''[[Know Your Enemy (Manic Street Preachers album)|Know Your Enemy]]''. The song was famously played at the [[Karl Marx Theatre]] in Cuba, with Cuban leader [[Fidel Castro]] rising to applaud the song.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://genius.com/Manic-street-preachers-baby-elian-lyrics | title=Manic Street Preachers – Baby Elian }}</ref>

The controversy was covered in the opening news reel of season four of [[For All Mankind (TV series)|For All Mankind]]. In the alternate history, Al Gore won the [[2000 United States presidential election]] in part by fighting to keep Elián González in the United States.

Elián González is referenced Chappelle’s Show episode “Samuel Jackson Beer & Racial Draft”, where the Latino community drafts him to everyone’s surprise.


==See also==
==See also==
Line 154: Line 141:


==Further reading==
==Further reading==
* Allatson, Paul. "[https://doi.org/10.5204/mcj.2449 The Virtualization of Elián González]", ''M/C Journal'' 7.5 (Nov. 2004).
* Allatson, Paul, and Molina Guzman, Isabel. "The Elián González Discursive Template: Mediating Children in Multiple Spheres of Conflict”, ''Journal of Children and Media'' 2.3 (September 2008): 248–63.
* de la Cova, Antonio Rafael. "[http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/academic/HLLR-Spring-2015.pdf The Elian Gonzalez Case: The World's Most Watched and Politically-Charged Custody Battle that Reached the U.S. Supreme Court and Determined a Presidential Election]", ''Harvard Latino Law Review'', Vol. 18, Spring 2015, pp.&nbsp;501–49.
* de la Cova, Antonio Rafael. "[http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/academic/HLLR-Spring-2015.pdf The Elian Gonzalez Case: The World's Most Watched and Politically-Charged Custody Battle that Reached the U.S. Supreme Court and Determined a Presidential Election]", ''Harvard Latino Law Review'', Vol. 18, Spring 2015, pp.&nbsp;501–49.
*[[Miguel A. De La Torre|De La Torre, Miguel A.]], "La Lucha for Cuba: Religion and Politics on the Streets of Miami", University of California Press, 2003.

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100424051546/http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1983611,00.html A Brief History of the Elian Gonzalez Affair] – slideshow by ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine
* {{in lang|es}} [http://www.elian.cu/ Official Cuban website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101210034853/http://www.elian.cu/ |date=December 10, 2010 }}: about the custody battle for Elián
* {{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/photoessays/yip2000/yip_apr_1.html |title=The Year in Pictures: Elian Gonzalez |year=2000 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |access-date=June 18, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070709042649/http://www.time.com/time/photoessays/yip2000/yip_apr_1.html |archive-date=July 9, 2007 }}
* {{cite news|url=http://www.commondreams.org/views/032900-105.htm |title=Elián: Shipwrecked on Dry Land |author-link=Gabriel García Márquez |first=Gabriel |last=García Márquez |work=[[Juventud Rebelde]] |date=March 29, 2000 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130617162040/http://www.commondreams.org/views/032900-105.htm |archive-date=June 17, 2013 }}
* {{cite news | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/5540113 | title=Finding Elian | work=[[Dateline NBC]] | publisher=[[NBC News]] | first=Keith | last=Morrison | author-link=Keith Morrison | date=August 1, 2004 }}
* {{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4471099.stm | title=What happened to Elian Gonzalez? | publisher=BBC | first=Stephen | last=Gibbs | date=April 22, 2005 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20111023230321/http://www.cbp.gov/xp/CustomsToday/2004/May/bortac.xml BORTAC: defusing the hot spots], ''CBP Today'' – May 2004 article on U.S. Border Patrol [[BORTAC]] Program
* [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/feb/21/elian-gonzalez-cuba-tug-war Elián González and the Cuban Crisis: 10 years later] article by ''[[The Guardian]]''
* [http://www.naturalchild.org/jan_hunt/elian.html Elián: What Have We Learned?]
* [http://www.univision.com/miami/wltv/noticias/politica/cuba-elian-gonzalez-se-gradua-de-ingeniero-y-lo-dedica-a-fidel-castro Elián, thanks to Fidel Castro]


{{Cuba topics}}
{{Cuba topics}}

Latest revision as of 22:45, 30 November 2024

Elián González
González (second from right) with his father, stepmother and half-brother in a photo taken a few hours after their reunion at Andrews Air Force Base in 2000
Member of the National Assembly of People's Power
Assumed office
April 19, 2023
ConstituencyCárdenas
Personal details
Born (1993-12-06) December 6, 1993 (age 31)
Cárdenas, Cuba[1]
Parent(s)Juan Miguel González Quintana (father)
Elizabeth Brotons Rodríguez (mother, deceased)
RelativesLázaro González (paternal great-uncle)
Alma materUniversity of Matanzas
Known forChild custody and immigration case

Elián González Brotons (born December 6, 1993) is a Cuban engineer and politician. As a young child, he was at the center of a high-profile international custody dispute between family members and involving Cuba and the United States.

On November 21, 1999, Elián's mother, her partner, and Elián fled Cuba by boat as part of a group of refugees attempting to reach the United States. The boat sank during the journey, and Elián's mother, along with most of the passengers, drowned. Elián was found floating on an inner tube and rescued by two fishermen, who turned him over to the U.S. Coast Guard. Elián was taken to a hospital and treated for dehydration and minor cuts. In addition to Elián, a young couple survived and reached shore separately.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) granted Elián temporary permission to stay in the U.S. and placed him with his great-uncle, Lázaro González, in Miami. His great-uncle wanted Elián to remain in the country, while his father, Juan Miguel González, sought his return to Cuba. This led to a high-profile and protracted custody battle involving his father, his Miami relatives, and U.S. and Cuban officials. Elián was returned to his father's custody after an INS raid on his Miami relatives' home on April 22, 2000. They returned to Cuba when the legal dispute concluded on June 28, 2000.

Elián González grew up in Cuba, earned an engineering degree, and worked as an industrial engineer. In 2023, he was elected to the National Assembly of People's Power, representing Cárdenas, Cuba.

Early life

[edit]

Elián González was born December 6, 1993, to divorced parents.[1] Although his parents divorced in 1991 after six years of marriage, the couple would separate for good in 1996, but both remained close with their son. They split custody of Elián, who spent up to five nights a week with his father or one of his grandmothers and the rest of the time with his mother.[2]

Journey to Florida

[edit]
The journey from Cárdenas, Cuba, to Florida

On November 21, 1999, González, his mother Elizabeth Brotons Rodríguez, and twelve others left Cuba on a small aluminum boat with a faulty engine; González's mother and ten others died in the crossing, and their bodies were never recovered. González floated at sea on an inner tube until he was rescued by two fishermen, who handed him over to the United States Coast Guard.[3] The two other survivors of the journey, a young couple, made it to the Florida coast separately.[4]

González's cousin Marisleysis said that Elián had told her that the boat's motor broke down and they tried in vain to bail out the water with nylon bags, but a storm doomed their efforts. He told her he tried to help get the water out and his mother's boyfriend placed him in an inner tube for safety. "He said afterwards that he fell asleep and that when he woke up he never saw his mother again". He said, "I think she drowned too because she didn't know how to swim".[3]

Nivaldo Fernández Ferrán, one of the three survivors on the boat, said "Elizabeth protected her son to the end". According to Fernández Ferrán, they set out on their trip at 4 am, dragging inflated rubber floats, or inner tubes, in case they needed them. As they encountered bad weather, the boat's engine failed and the craft began to fill with water. After it went under, the passengers clung to the inner tubes in cold water, with waves reaching heights of three to four meters (10 to 13 feet).[5]

Afterwards, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) released González to his paternal great-uncle, Lázaro. According to The Washington Post, González's father, Juan Miguel González Quintana, had telephoned Lázaro from Cuba on November 22, 1999, to advise that González and his mother had left Cuba without Juan Miguel's knowledge, and to watch for their arrival.[6]

Custody dispute in the United States

[edit]

The U.S. legislation system had enacted the Cuban Adjustment Act in 1966, which sought to provide political asylum for Cubans who fled their country in the hopes of a new life. Under the act, Cuban refugees without visas entering the United States were paroled, and after a year could apply for permanent resident status.[7] The US also issued 20,000 lottery visas every year to Cuban emigrants under the wet foot, dry foot policy.[7] Under this policy, those who reached the mainland were granted asylum, while those who were intercepted at sea by the U.S. Coast Guard were sent back to Cuba.[7]

Lázaro González, backed by local Cuban Americans, took the position that the boy should remain in the United States and not be returned to his father. Marisleysis González (Lázaro's adult daughter) became Elián González's caretaker and spokesperson for the paternal relatives. Also, Armando Gutierrez, a local Cuban-American businessman, became a spokesman.[8] At the same time, Juan Miguel, with the support of Cuban authorities, demanded that his son be returned to Cuba.[citation needed]

On January 21, 2000, Elián González's grandmothers, Mariela Quintana and Raquel Rodríguez, flew from Havana to the United States to seek their grandson's return to Cuba. While they were able to meet with the boy only once at the Miami Beach home of Barry University president Sister Jeanne O'Laughlin, they journeyed to Washington and met with congressmen and Attorney General Janet Reno. After nine days of media coverage (during which Republican lawmakers acknowledged they did not have the votes to pass a bill to give González U.S. citizenship), they returned to Cuba to "a hero's welcome".[9]

On January 28, the Spanish foreign minister Abel Matutes called for the boy's return to Cuba, stating that international law dictated the return. Meanwhile, the González family in Miami denied allegations that they had offered Juan Miguel a house and a car if he abandoned the action and joined his son in Miami.[10] Juan Miguel was uninterested in emigrating.[11]

Through January and February, Juan Miguel sent a number of open letters to the U.S. government—published in, among other places, the Cuban newspaper Granma—demanding the return of his son and refusing the Miami relatives' demands.[12]

Chicago-based fathers' rights attorney Jeffery M. Leving spearheaded the amicus brief, which set the foundation of the custody case to reunite González with his father in Cuba.[13] Manuel González, Elián Gonzalez's great uncle, later retained Leving to reunite González with his father.[14][15][16]

On March 21, Judge Kevin Michael Moore of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida dismissed the relatives' petition for asylum which they had filed on behalf of Elián González. Lázaro vowed to appeal.[17] On March 29, Miami-Dade County mayor Alex Penelas was joined by 22 other civic leaders in a speech in downtown Miami. Penelas indicated that the municipality would not cooperate with Federal authorities on any repatriation of the boy, and would not lend police assets or any other assistance in taking the boy.

On April 14, a video was released in which Elián González told Juan Miguel that he wanted to stay in the United States.[18] However, many thought that he had been coached,[19] as a male voice was heard off-camera directing the young boy.[citation needed] In a September 2005 interview with 60 Minutes after being sent back to Cuba, González stated that during his stay in the U.S., his family members were "telling me bad things about [my father]", and "were also telling me to tell him that I did not want to go back to Cuba, and I always told them I wanted to."[20]

Elián González remained a subject of media attention as he went to Walt Disney World Resort one day, then met with politicians the next. Throughout the custody battle, opinion polls showed that a majority of Americans believed González should be returned to his father in Cuba, and that doing so was in the boy's best interest.[21]

Attorney General Janet Reno ordered the return of Elián González to his father and set a deadline of April 13, 2000, but the Miami relatives defied the order. Negotiations continued for several days as the house was surrounded by protesters as well as police. The relatives insisted on guarantees that they could live with the child for several months and retain custody, and that González would not be returned to Cuba. Negotiations carried on throughout the night, but Reno stated that the relatives rejected all workable solutions.[22]

On April 19, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Atlanta ruled that González must remain in the U.S. until his family in Miami could appeal for an asylum hearing in May.[23]

On January 10, 2000, a Florida state court had ruled that the Florida family court was able to decide the merit of motion related with temporary custody by Lázaro González, stating that Elián should stay with the Miami relatives until a further custody hearing. However, Attorney General Janet Reno declared that the federal courts are responsible for deciding this case, and that the Miami relatives must appeal to the federal court.[24] Here, the objective of Reno was to provide the relatives with a chance to provide "any information" they could that would be "relevant in the decision". She again emphasized that the INS commissioner had declared that the father speaks for the son, and that his wishes were to have his son returned to him.[25]

The judge's order cleared the way for González to be returned to his father's custody. On April 19, Reno accepted a last-ditch offer at mediation between González's relatives from University of Miami president Edward T. Foote II, Carlos Saladrigas, and Carlos de la Cruz. However, a day later Reno made the decision to remove González from the house if the negotiations failed and instructed law enforcement officials to determine the best time to obtain the boy. They decided to hold the raid on either Saturday, April 22, or Monday, April 24, to avoid Good Friday or Easter Sunday. President Bill Clinton urged Reno to keep the negotiations going but approved the raid if they failed.[26]

De la Cruz and Saladrigas convinced Gonzalez's relatives in Miami and their attorney Aaron Podhurst to allow Juan Miguel temporary custody over Elián while custody negotiations took place in a safe house in Miami. However, Juan Miguel and his attorney Gregory B. Craig rejected the deal and demanded that the boy be brought to Washington, D.C. They announced their reservations to the deal on the early morning of April 22, a matter of hours before the raid. Reno subsequently called Lázaro González at 2:00 am asking him to hand Elián over to the United States Marshals Service with the promise that she would fly to Miami in the morning to personally negotiate. However, the family refused out of fear that the government would remove Elián from Miami and that doing so would allow Cuban diplomats to abduct him. Fifteen minutes later, President Clinton and Chief of Staff John Podesta told Reno that she could have more time to negotiate with the family, but that she could order the raid if she so chose. Reno subsequently demanded that the family hand over Elian by 4 am without informing them of the impending raid.[26] After being informed of the decision, Marisleysis said to a United States Department of Justice community relations officer, "You think we just have cameras in the house? If people try to come in, they could be hurt."[22]

Seizure and reactions

[edit]
A federal agent retrieves Elián from his relatives' home in Miami. This photo won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News.[27]

In the pre-dawn hours of Saturday, April 22, agents of the United States Border Patrol's special BORTAC unit, as part of an operation in which more than 130 Immigration and Naturalization Service personnel took part,[28] approached the house, knocked on the door, and identified themselves. When no one responded, they entered. At the same time, pepper-spray and mace were employed against persons outside who attempted to interfere.[29] In the confusion, Armando Gutierrez called in Alan Diaz, of the Associated Press, to enter the house and enter a room with González, his great uncle's wife Angela Lázaro, her niece, the niece's young son, and Donato Dalrymple (one of the two men who had rescued him from the ocean). They waited in the room listening to agents searching the house. Diaz took a widely publicized photograph of a border patrol agent confronting Dalrymple and the boy. INS subsequently flew Elian out of Miami aboard a Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System aircraft.[26]

INS also stated in the days after the raid that they had identified as many as two dozen persons who were "prepared to thwart any government operation", some of whom had concealed weapons while others had criminal records.[30][31]

Approximately 100 people protested against the raid as it took place, with some calling the INS agents "assassins".[32][clarification needed] Then-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani described BORTAC agents involved in the seizure of Elian as "storm troopers" at least six times. Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association reacted with "strong disgust and dismay" to the Nazi imagery and demanded Giuliani's apology. Hillary Clinton, then running against Giuliani for the 2000 United States Senate election in New York, agreed with FLEOA in asking for an apology. Giuliani refused to apologize, although he stated his criticism was aimed at President Clinton and Attorney General Reno. He later withdrew from the race for unrelated reasons.[33]

Public opinion about the INS raid on the Miami González's house was widely polarized. There were two major focuses in media coverage of the event: the raid and the family reunions.[34] A Time magazine issue showed a photo of a joyful González being reunited with his father (the caption says "Papa!"), while Newsweek ran an issue that focused on the raid, entitled "Seizing Elián".[35]

The struggle between González's American family and his father was portrayed in the 2000 television film, A Family In Crisis: The Elian Gonzales Story, which starred Esai Morales as Elián's father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez; Laura Harring as Elián's cousin Marisleysis Gonzalez; and Alec Roberts in the title role.[36]

Return to father's custody

[edit]

Four hours after he was taken from the house in Miami, González and his father were reunited at Andrews Air Force Base.[37] The next day, the White House released a photograph showing a smiling González reunited with his father, which the Miami relatives disputed by stating that it was a fake González in the photograph.[38] Later, González and his family were taken to the Aspen Institute Wye River Conference Center in Maryland (formerly known as "Wye Plantation"). The media were barred from access to the family.[39]

While the family was still at Andrews, the Miami González relatives flew to Washington demanding to see Elián. They and their escort, New Hampshire senator Bob Smith, were turned away from the base by guards.[26] The May 5, 2000, Miami Herald reported that González was joined by his classmates (without their parents) and his teacher from his hometown, Cárdenas. The newspaper Granma released pictures of Elián in his José Martí Pioneer Organization uniform.[40] On May 6, 2000, attorney Craig took González and Juan Miguel to a dinner in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, DC, hosted by Smith and Elizabeth Bagley.[41]

After González was returned to his father's custody, he remained in the U.S. while the Miami relatives exhausted their legal options. A three-judge federal panel had ruled that he could not go back to Cuba until he was granted an asylum hearing, but the case turned on the right of the relatives to request that hearing on behalf of the boy.[42] On June 1, 2000, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Elián was too young to file for asylum; only his father could speak for him, and the relatives lacked legal standing.[43] On June 28, 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the decision.[44] In the afternoon of the same day, seven months and one week after Elián González left Cuba, he and his family, along with his classmates and teacher, boarded two chartered planes at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia, for José Martí International Airport in Havana.[45]

Political ramifications

[edit]

Commentators have suggested that the Elián González affair may have been a factor in voters' decisions in the 2000 United States presidential election, which was decided by the United States Supreme Court's Bush v. Gore decision halting the 2000 United States presidential election recount in Florida and awarding the state's 25 electoral votes to the Republican Party candidate George W. Bush.[46] The Gonzalez case is believed to have been a major factor in Bush's narrow lead in the state as the raid caused Cuban-Americans in Florida to strongly favor him over the Democratic Party nominee Al Gore.[47][48][49][50][51] Polls in 2001 indicated that Bush captured 80 percent of the Florida Cuban-American vote in 2000, 50,000 votes more than the previous Republican nominee Bob Dole's 65 percent of the Florida Cuban-American vote in the 1996 United States presidential election.[47] Later, the 2020 HBO documentary 537 Votes argued that Bush may have achieved as high as 88 percent of the Florida Cuban-American vote.[47] Gore's handling of the matter may have angered the predominantly Republican Cuban community over the boy's return to Cuba.[52] Gore initially supported Republican legislation to give the boy and his father permanent residence status,[53] but later supported the administration position. He was attacked by both sides in the dispute for his equivocal position.[54]

In Cuba, the Elián González matter generated popular mobilization across the island seeking González's return.[55]: 138–139  Acting on the popular sentiment, Fidel Castro launched a campaign called the Battle of Ideas, which centered on a series of educational initiatives designed to advance socialist ideals including the revolutionary New Man.[55]: 139 

Life in Cuba

[edit]

Youth and schooling

[edit]

After his return to Cuba, Elián González lived with his father, stepmother, and three brothers in Cárdenas,[56][57] where his father, Juan Miguel, was a waiter at an Italian restaurant at Josone Park,[58] in Varadero, near Cárdenas. Elián's father was interviewed at the restaurant in 2004 by Keith Morrison of the NBC News program Dateline NBC and Cover to Cover on CNBC. Juan Miguel filmed a home video on which González was shown doing his arithmetic homework with Juan Miguel in their dining room, going to bed in his bedroom with his two younger half-brothers, and attending karate lessons.[59]

Morrison's TV report also showed an 18th-century building in Cárdenas which was previously used as a fire station and which was renovated and inaugurated on July 14, 2001, as a museum, called Museo de la Batalla de Ideas ("Museum of the Battle of Ideas"), which includes an exhibition room dedicated to González, which houses a life-size bronze statue of González raising a clenched fist. The former González home in Miami has similarly been turned into a museum, with the boy's bedroom left unaltered.[60] Juan Miguel is also a member of the National Assembly of People's Power and has attended events for the Communist Party of Cuba with González, who has been called up to the stage to meet Fidel Castro.

In September 2005, González was interviewed by 60 Minutes and stated during the interview that Fidel Castro was a friend, and that he considers Castro "not only as a friend but as a father"; González's aunt, Angela González, said she doubted whether the interview represented his true beliefs because of the controls imposed by Cuba on information.[61] In December 2006, an ill Fidel Castro was unable to attend González's 13th birthday celebration, so his brother Raúl attended instead.[62]

On August 16, 2006, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of an excessive force lawsuit brought by Dalrymple and others against the federal government and Reno.[29]

González joined the Young Communist Union of Cuba in June 2008 shortly after graduating from junior high school. At age 15, he began military school.[63][64] In a November 2013 speech, González described his time in the United States as "very sad times for me, which marked me for my whole life", asserting that the Cuban Adjustment Act led to the denial of his rights, including "the right to be together with my father, the right to keep my nationality and to remain in my cultural context".[65]

College and political career

[edit]

In the 2010s, González studied to be an industrial engineer, and hoped to marry his high school girlfriend and fiancée after finishing college. In July 2016, he received a degree in industrial engineering from the University of Matanzas, and read a letter to Fidel Castro from his graduating class, vowing "to fight from whatever trench the revolution demands".[66] After graduating in 2016, González began working as a technology specialist at a state-run company that makes large plastic water tanks.[67] On Father's Day in 2020, González announced that he and his fiancée were expecting a daughter within the following months.[68]

In 2013 González led the Cuban delegation to the 18th World Festival of Youth and Students in Quito, Ecuador. In an interview with CNN en Español he blamed his mother's death on economic impact of the United States embargo against Cuba, which he held to be responsible for the economic underdevelopment of the country.[69] González also stated that he was happy that he did not stay in the United States, saying that he would have been manipulated into becoming a "performer" for the Cuban dissident movement and the American media.[57] He also stated, "I don't profess to have any religion, but if I did my God would be Fidel Castro."[70]

In 2015, González was elected to lead his local Committee for the Defense of the Revolution, prompting speculation that he was preparing for a political career.[71][72] In an interview with the Communist Party of Cuba's official newspaper Granma that year, Gonzalez defended socialism and stated that economic liberalization could result in Cuba becoming a poorer "colony" dominated by the United States. In another interview with ABC News he reiterated his condemnation of the embargo and satisfaction with the outcome of the custody dispute, but expressed hope for better Cuba–United States relations in the future and stated he would like to return to the United States one day "to give my love to the American people".[57][73][74][75]

In 2017, a documentary on his life called Elián was released. The film premiered on April 19, 2017, at the Tribeca Film Festival. It opened in limited release in May, and appeared on CNN Films in August 2017.[76]

González was nominated by the municipal assembly of Cárdenas to run as its candidate for the National Assembly of People's Power in the 2023 Cuban parliamentary election.[77][78][79] He was elected unopposed along with the CPC's slate of 470 candidates[80] and sworn into office in April 2023.[81]

See also

[edit]

Footnotes

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Elián González". Biography.com. February 28, 2019. Archived from the original on February 28, 2019. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  2. ^ https://www.biography.com/political-figures/elian-gonzalez
  3. ^ a b Plemming, Sue (March 27, 2000). "Cuban boy draws picture of shipwreck drama". cubanet.org, quoting a Fox News article. Archived from the original on January 12, 2009. Retrieved October 6, 2008.
  4. ^ The Associated Press (November 27, 2000). "Survivors of Cuban Boy's Voyage Feel Ignored". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 27, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  5. ^ Ray, Diana (February 14, 2000). "A Love Supreme". BNET, quoting insightmag.com. Retrieved October 6, 2008.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ "The Politics of Elian". The Wall Street Journal. April 6, 2000. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  7. ^ a b c Cova, A. D. (2015). The Elian Gonzalez case: The world's most-watched and politically-charged custody battle that reached the U.S. Supreme Court and determined a presidential election. Harvard Latino Law Review, 18(1), 152–200.
  8. ^ Johnston, David (April 21, 2000). "THE ELIAN GONZALEZ CASE: THE OVERVIEW; U.S. Gathers Officers, Preparing To Take Cuban From Miami Kin". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 20, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  9. ^ "Heroes' welcome for Elian grandmothers". BBC. January 30, 2000. Archived from the original on February 26, 2008. Retrieved June 18, 2007.
  10. ^ "Spain backs Cuba over custody row". BBC. January 18, 2000. Archived from the original on February 26, 2008. Retrieved June 18, 2007.
  11. ^ By (April 16, 2000). "DESPITE OVERTURES, ELIAN'S DAD HAS NO DESIRE TO DEFECT – Sun Sentinel". Archived from the original on July 1, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  12. ^ "Elian's father makes new appeal". BBC. February 15, 2000. Archived from the original on September 12, 2019. Retrieved June 18, 2007.
  13. ^ The Group Who Filed Elian Gonzalez Brief, Supports INS Decision, PR Newswire, January 7, 2000. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  14. ^ Jeffery Leving, attorney for Elian's great uncle Manuel Gonzalez, discusses the Elian Gonzalez custody hearing, CNN, May 11, 2000. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  15. ^ Intervenor Applicant's Resp. to Pls.’ and Defs.’ Opp’n to Mot. to Intervene and Mot. for Relief Under Rule 17(c) at 1, 14., Gonzalez v. Reno, 86 F. Supp. 2d (S.D. Fla. 2000) (No. 00-0206).
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  36. ^ A Family In Crisis: The Elian Gonzales Story at IMDb
  37. ^ DeYoung, Karen (April 23, 2000). "Raid Reunites Elian and Father; U.S. Agents Seize Boy From Relatives and Fly Him Here; Protests Erupt in Miami". The Washington Post. p. A01.
  38. ^ Robles, Frances; Wheat, Jack (April 24, 2000). "Reunion Photo Stirs Controversy". Miami Herald. p. 7A.
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  40. ^ Borger, Julian (May 30, 2000). "Soft landing for castaway Elian as Cuba rolls out tattered red carpet". The Guardian.
  41. ^ Sands, David R. (June 2, 2000). "Elian's dad lauds court custody ruling". The Washington Times.
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  46. ^ Cotterell, Bill. "New documentary recasts the 2000 presidential vote in Florida as the Elian election". Tallahassee Democrat. Archived from the original on January 29, 2023. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
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  48. ^ "Special Event". CNN. Archived from the original on November 3, 2020. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
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  50. ^ "The Hispanic Vote and the U.S. Presidential Election". wharton.upenn.edu. Knowledge@Wharton Network, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. November 3, 2004. Archived from the original on April 13, 2013. Retrieved October 3, 2008.
  51. ^ Alter, Jonathan (April 23, 2006). "Taking Sides". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 2, 2016. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
  52. ^ Marks, Ted (May 2000). "The Saga of Elian Gonzalez: A News Media Riot?". MFAMedia.com. Archived from the original on August 1, 2019. Retrieved December 14, 2007.
  53. ^ 1. [106th] Whereas the mother of Elian Gonzalez sacrificed her life in fleeing Cuba to bring her son to a free country; (Introduced in House) [H.RES.480.IH] 2. [106th] Expressing the sense of Congress that Elian Gonzalez should be reunited with his father, Juan Gonzalez of Cuba. (Introduced in Senate) [S.CON.RES.79.IS] 3 . [106th] Expressing the sense of Congress that Elian Gonzalez should be reunited with his father, Juan Gonzalez of Cuba. (Introduced in House) [H.CON.RES.240.IH] 4. [106th] For the relief of Elian Gonzalez and other family members. (Placed on Calendar in Senate) [S.2314.PCS] 5. [106th] For the relief of Elian Gonzalez. (Introduced in House) [H.R.3532.IH] 6. [106th] For the relief of Elian Gonzalez-Brotons. (Placed on Calendar in Senate)[S.1999.PCS ][PDF] 7. [106th] For the relief of Elian Gonzalez-Brotons. (Introduced in House) [H.R.3531.IH]
  54. ^ Clymer, Adam (June 2, 2000). "While Conservatives and Liberals React, Gore and George Bush Hedge on Ruling". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 20, 2024. Retrieved June 15, 2008.
  55. ^ a b Cederlöf, Gustav (2023). The Low-Carbon Contradiction: Energy Transition, Geopolitics, and the Infrastructural State in Cuba. Critical environments: nature, science, and politics. Oakland, California: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-39313-4.
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Further reading

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