Elian Gonzalez Calls Castro 'Friend'Five Years

[Judi Lynn]

Elian Gonzalez Calls Castro 'Friend'Five Years
After Custody Fight, Elian Gonzalez Calls Castro 'Friend' in '60 Minutes' Interview
The Associated Press

MIAMI Sep 29, 2005 — Elian Gonzalez, the Cuban boy at the center of an international custody battle five years ago, calls Cuban President Fidel Castro his friend but also says he hopes someday to see his Miami family again.

"Despite everything they did, it was wrong, they are (still) my family … my uncles," the boy said in the interview with CBS's "60 Minutes," which released excerpts Thursday for the program that airs Sunday night.
(snip)

CBS spokesman Kevin Tedesco said "60 Minutes" interviewed Gonzalez for 70 minutes three weeks ago at a museum in Cardenas, Cuba, the boy's hometown. He said the boy's father was present, but there were no Cuban monitors or officials and no ground rules. In the interview, Elian said he had always told his U.S. relatives he wanted to go back to Cuba.

The boy's aunt, Angela Gonzalez, told The Associated Press on Thursday that she isn't sure whether Elian truly believes what he said in the interview. She said family members in the United States have been prevented from having any contact with the boy.

"We love him. He is always on our minds," said Angela Gonzalez, who had U.S. custody of Elian.
(snip/)

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1170882

[LisaM]

1. Elian Gonzalez, walking ad for products and services

remember how they had him all fitted out in name brand stuff? His Miami family were all a bunch of greedy opportunists.

[Karenina]

2. I'm happy he was returned to his father,

his family and sanity.

[Hobarticus]

4. Me too. He's right back home where he belongs...

Remember the thrashing Bill and Reno took for that? Sad to say, doing the right thing isn't always popular nor easy.

[Say_What]

35. Elian on 60 Minutes tonight... don't miss it!!

should be interesting...



A :kick: for Elian and his *real* family in Cuba!!

[brentspeak]

3. I remember the "body double" the Miami relatives made available

Another 7 year-old boy who resembled Elian was placed inside the relatives' house, and was meant to be taken by the Feds in the event of a rescue. Pretty sick.

[LostinVA]

15. Huh -- I've never heard this.....

[Cha]

5. I supported Elian Gonzales

to be with his father. Looks like it's turning out.

[AlphaCat]

7. I certainly think...

...that a boy needs his father. I was glad to see him go back. I can't imagine what it would be like to be snatched away from all he knew. I think it'll work out--he's not the only male child to grow up with his Dad in Cuba!

[tainowarrior]

24. he'll get food

an education, a chance to live in a vibrant culture, and a chance to be a good human being.

That's more than most of humanity gets.

Will he have most of the material perks we have? No. But then again, is that what being a human is these days?

Elian is fine, folks.

[sando]

6. I wonder if the press

Knew that Elian had been requesting to be allowed to return to Cuba? And if they did why wasn't that reported? I'm glad the kid got to go home to his father where he belonged to begin with. I'm sure his family members would have been allowed access to him had they not been such assholes about returning home to his father.

[Crunchy Frog]

11. Somebody once managed to catch a video clip

where he was playing outside and a plane suddenly flew overhead. The video footage showed Elian gesticulating at it wildly, and crying out "I want you to take me back to Cuba!". I don't think it was widely reported; the MSM was rather biased with that whole story, but I did find the clip online at the time (I'm sure it's long since gone by now).

[Lydia Leftcoast]

12. I saw that clip, too

It's not your imagination.

[Say_What]

21. It was reported... a news team from WPLG got it on tape,

<clips>

Four seconds of videotape -- and what a 6-year-old boy said during those four
seconds -- ignited a new controversy Wednesday and elevated the heated
emotions already surrounding Elian Gonzalez, a child whose every move and
utterance is now analyzed.

The tape, shot by WPLG-Channel 10, showed a mischievous, playful Elian gazing
up at a passing jetliner and saying . . . well, that's where the controversy begins.

Channel 10 reported that he said: ``Yo quiero que tu me regreses pa' Cuba.'' I
want you to take me back to Cuba. That tape and interpretation were broadcast
Tuesday night and then rebroadcast Wednesday around the world.

But many others, including a court-certified interpreter hired by The Herald,
thought Elian said: ``Yo quiero que no me regresen pa' Cuba.'' I want that they not
take me back to Cuba.

http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/elian/return.htm

[chalky]

25. Wow, is that a current picture of Elian? He looks so happy and relaxed.

I didn't realize how tense that little boy had been until I saw this picture.

[Say_What]

28. He's on 60 Minutes tonight that's where the pic came from...

I noticed the big difference when he was reunited with his father too. I posted some pics in a post below of that time, but he really does look great. I followed this closely when he was held captive in Miami and have kinda followed it since. Amazing that he seems so well balanced after what the Gusanos put him and his father through. Kidnapping a kid and trying to turn him against his father in the name of 'freedom and democracy'. It really portrayed the Gusanos for who and what they are.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/09/28/60minutes/main888950.shtml

[Judi Lynn]

27. That sham interpretation is so lame. Why would he have been

holding his arm up toward the airplane if he was only yelling he wanted them to NOT take him to Cuba. It wouldn't make any sense whatsoever.

They all went wild trying to pretend he called out to the airplane that he didn't want to go home. Absurd!

Looks like it got some of them really hot under the collar, when they realized having a news camera too close to the kid could end up exposing the fact he wanted to be back home with his dad.

Things are dead to kids. Roomfuls of toys can only be of minimal interest when you're homesick for your loved ones.

What about the "Heidi" story, after all!

From Say_What's article:

Controversy raged throughout the day -- with demonstrators gathering outside
Channel 10's studio and passersby hurling insults at Channel 10 crews at Elian's
relatives' home in Little Havana -- more evidence of the volatile atmosphere that
surrounds this case.

At one point Wednesday night, a man identifying himself as Gerardo Barrios Sr.
nailed a wooden sign to a telephone pole next to the house. It said: ``We don't
want Channel 10 here.''
(snip/)

[Say_What]

36. Meanwhile, after he said it the crowd is screaming No, No, No!!

If this would have happened during the Bushista years Elian never would have seen his father again. By this late date he'd be competing with the Cid brothers for felonies instead of the growing into the bright, well balanced, and articulate young man he obviously is. It will be interesting to see what time brings for him. That sweet face is filled with so much light.

[Judi Lynn]

39. Now that's one sad picture to contemplate: what if he had stayed

in Miami, with his drunken great uncles, his drama queen, hysterical, invent-the-truth-as-you-go cousin Marisleysis, and his two felon male Cid cousins. Instead of going to his school at home, he could be attending the same Lincoln Marti school owned by Demetrio Perez, Jr., who was found guilty of fraud when he charged his Cuban Section 8 housing tenants exorbitant rates for his apartments, while also billing the federal government for their housing allowances:

Federal prosecutors in May indicted Demetrio Perez, Jr., who at the time was a member of the Miami-Dade County School Board, on 21 counts of mail fraud and making false statements regarding rental properties he owned. Like the Alonsos, he also received federal Section 8 money.
(snip)

http://www.miaminewtimes.com/issues/2001-09-06/defede.html

Also, Perez had other "entrepreneural" triumphs, like this one:

More than $400,000 earmarked for programs serving needy children went to spruce up private buildings owned by millionaire businessman Demetrio Pérez Jr., even as he sat on the Miami-Dade School Board, a Herald investigation has found.

Among his vast real-estate holdings, Pérez owns buildings that house programs for the Lincoln-Martí Community Agency, a nonprofit he founded to provide dropout prevention and day-care services for disadvantaged children.

Its programs are bankrolled by taxpayers through government contracts with the Miami-Dade County School Board and county, state and federal agencies.

In 2000, the community agency -- using public money -- paid $413,966 to make improvements to his buildings: new air conditioning and paint; floor tiling; new windows, walls and cabinets.

''That's very questionable,'' said School Board member Manty Sabatés Morse, who voted against funding the agency while Pérez was in office. The contract between the district and the agency says the money will be used to train students who are ``unsuccessful, unmotivated or disruptive.''
(snip/...)

http://ivbe.org/tbe/miamiherald34.htm

Yeah, through his association with the cream of the crop "exiles" in Little Havana, little Elián's future would have looked so much different in Miami, wouldn't it? Lucky for him, he finally was allowed to escape to the waiting arms of his real family, cousins, aunts, uncles, 4 grandparents, schoolmates, and neighborhood friends.

Elian, school in Miami.

[Mika]

50. Don't forget that Gore felt the case should go to a Miami kangaroo court

Both he and Lieberman (a GREAT friend of the CANF) mistakenly(!) felt that the US had jurisdiction and wanted the case to go to a Miami family court (where judges are elected and in the pocket of Armando Guitterez).

Both of them were pandering to the extremist/terrorist elements in Miami (a moneyed minority) using this child's kidnapping to do so. :puke:

[Ediacara]

8. Boo-hoo Angela

I don't really care if you're his Aunt, your family is full of unemployed drunks and attention whores. NO family court anywhere in the world would have awarded you guys custody, and most would probably also restrict visitation rights after the stunt you fools pulled...

[ronnykmarshall]

16. Remember "the fisherman"?

That other media whore that was living w/ the Miami family.

The day the feds took Elian, the aunt and that jerk were boo-hooing for the camera.

Baaaaaad acting. Looked like a cheeze soap opera.

[Judi Lynn]

18. Donato Dalrymple! I just remember he claimed to have a special bond

with the kid, and one time claimed Elián licked his face. Yeah, right.

It was his cousin, Sam Ciancio who really went after the kid and got him into the boat. Dalrymple couldn't swim. Sam believed Elián should be with his dad, and it was Sam who went to his town in Cuba and visited him and his family.

[Judi Lynn]

31. Don't forget his twin career criminal cousins, the Cid brothers

who perenially harvest tourists in Miami, raking up the assault and robbery charges together.

Others in the extended family include the Cids, two brothers and a sister that are cousins to Elian via a great-aunt. Georgina Cid Cruz was an early media spokesperson for the clan, and her twin brothers frequently came by to play with the boy or take him on outings. Both brothers have long arrest records; Luis with robbery and gun charges, and Jose with five charges including burglary, grand theft, and robbery with force.
(snip)

http://www.monitor.net/monitor/0004a/elian.html

Here's one of them, José Cid, holding the kid.



Lazaro Gonzalez, right, great uncle of Elian Gonzalez, receives a hug from family attorney Manny Diaz, while family relative Jose Cid, holding Lazarito Gonzalez, left, looks on Thursday April 27, 2000 in Miami. Attorney General Janet Reno said Thursday that agents who seized Elian Gonzalez had to have a "show of force, not a use of force, to show we were in control.'' A psychiatrist who examined the 6-year-old Cuban boy said it's likely he suffered no lasting harm from the armed raid.(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

[Judi Lynn]

33. Another sweet story featuring Elian's Miami cousin, José Cid....

~snip~
.....According to police reports and court records, the 32-year-old was arrested by Miami police on September 7 and charged with strong-arm robbery after he and an accomplice assaulted and robbed a tourist in Little Havana. The robbery took place about a half-mile from where Elian is now living. Cid is free on bond while awaiting trial next month.

This isn't Luis Cid's first encounter with law enforcement and the courts. In 1994 he was arrested on felony charges of carrying a concealed weapon and resisting arrest with violence. Also that year his ex-wife sought a permanent injunction against him, alleging domestic violence, according to court records. In 1995 she sued him for child support. In 1998 he was arrested once more, this time on felony firearms and prowling charges.

Cid's twin brother also visits his uncle's Little Havana home to socialize with Elian. José Cid, like his brother, has a lengthy history of encounters with police. Between 1986 and 1990 he was arrested at least five times on felony charges including burglary, grand theft, and robbery with force, according to court records. In 1994 he was arrested on charges of petit larceny. (New Times was unable to confirm before press time the judicial outcomes of the various criminal charges brought against the Cid brothers. Efforts to interview the brothers for this story also were unsuccessful.)
(snip)

According to police reports, Chiong and Cid were standing near a parking lot at 3090 NW Seventh St. at about 3 a.m. when a lost tourist pulled up to ask them for directions. Chiong and Cid allegedly directed the tourist, Gordon Farrell of New Haven, Connecticut, to pull into the parking lot. When Farrell emerged from his car, Chiong reportedly grabbed him from behind and held him as Cid struck him in the head and grabbed two chains from his neck, according to the arrest affidavit.

Two City of Miami police officers patrolling the area heard Farrell's screams for help and saw him waving his arms. When the officers pulled into the parking lot, Chiong and Cid fled on foot but were quickly caught. Cid was found hiding under a nearby parked car. Police report they recovered Farrell's jewelry under that same car.
(snip)http://newtimesbpb.com/issues/2000-01-20/news.html



Just the guy you want
to watch over your kid:
it's José Cid.

[bemildred]

9. You gotta wonder how they fooled the evil Dictater and his secret police

long enough to do this inteview?

[tainowarrior]

29. CNN regularly works

in Cuba. Cuba has never restricted the press to the point that other nations have.

Interviews with the American press are a regular in Cuba. It's not super perfect, but then again, no nation is totally press-open.

[Crunchy Frog]

10. I was so, so, so glad when that little kid was returned to his father.

I could not believe the level of insanity that was surrounding him in Miami. I also couldn't believe the way the media was reporting it, and the way the politicians were behaving.

It was my first real clue that there was something really, seriously wrong in this country.

Frankly, I think the kid's better off in Cuba.

[Vogon_Glory]

13. Think Of US Parents In Custody Disputes, Too!

I was also pleased that little Elian was returned to his father, but for somewhat different reasons. By returning little Elian to his father, the US would be upholding international treaty obligations regarding child custody. By doing so, the US was not only righting a wrong done to the child and his Cuban father, but was also striking a blow for the interests of tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of US parents facing child custody disputes in foreign courts.

Right-wing whack jobs may decry the former Clinton administration by returning young Elian to the "godless Commies," but their beating the drums for the US to violate its treaty commitments showed just how willing those right-wingers were to stick it to American parents.

[Mika]

14. One of the best place in the world to raise a kid - Cardenas, Cuba

City Hall


Cardenas Train Station


A Fire Station


A Cardenas plaza

[StopTheMorans]

19. who raises a kid at the firestation?

:shrug:

[ronnykmarshall]

20. Oh YOU!!!

:spray:

[tainowarrior]

23. Could be worse

Could be about hundred other much poorer nations, where the majority of humanity lives.

Or, gulp, could be a ghetto in New Orleans?

:eyes:

[Say_What]

32. Could be any Indian Reservation in the USSA

with demographics that of third world countries.

[tainowarrior]

37. there you go..

granted, Cuba ain't Disneyland, but I find it so funny when people somehow freak out about Cuban poverty when:

A) This is characteristic of about 75-80% of humanity (sadly).
B) They're not even the worst poverty
C) At least no one dies of hunger or homelessness in Cuba.

If this is the world we HAVE to live in, than living in Cuba is surely not the worst place.

[Say_What]

38. And despite being embargoed for 40+ years they have

demographics that rival the so-called *developed* countries. I have much admiration for them.

A few years ago Native Americans honored Fidel for holding off Tio Sam for so many years. I tried to google the article up with no luck, but it was posted here on DU and should be in the archives.

[Mika]

40. Found the DU thread on Castro being honored by American Indians

DU thread: American Indian activists award Castro with 'Eagle Feather'
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=88256

The lead article link is dead, but OP (Osolomia) extracted the relevant paras.

Thu, Aug. 28, 2003

American Indian activists award Castro with 'Eagle Feather' for exceptional warriors
Associated Press
http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/news/6643005.htm

HAVANA - An American Indian activist group has selected Cuban President Fidel Castro for its highest honor for exceptional warriors - the first time the "Eagle Feather" has been bestowed on a non-native of the United States, a Cuban news agency reported Thursday.

Daniel Cheng Yang, leader of the American Indian Movement's youth group, traveled to Cuba to present the award to Castro along with a declaration honoring "the man who represents respect, success, honor and bravery," the official National Information Agency said.

During his visit, Cheng also condemned the U.S. economic blockade against the communist island and expressed the Indian organization's solidarity with five Cuban spies held in U.S. prisons.

(Also note some of the usual anti Cuba demonization by some familiar tombstoned DUhers in the old thread.)

Hope this helps. :hi:

[Judi Lynn]

42. Great thread, Mika! Thanks for the link. There were 3 tombstoned jerks

on that thread. I had forgotten their poisonous presences.

No doubt they'll be reincarnating and appearing in our midst again, if they haven't already. What a collection of @$$#0#&$. I still can't believe Muddleoftheroad claimed to be an African American and then proceeded to spew anti-black, right-wing venom throughout his visit here, using (or misusing) an avatar featuring Martin Luther King. He probably felt that was hilarious freep wit.

Terrific seeing this thread again.

[0007]

54. Man, I forgot all about those old nasty trolls of yesterday.

That was a good thread. And as always you were great Judi Lynn.

[Judi Lynn]

63. Jeez, they were hateful, 0007. Downright creepy.

People like that take a lot of time from your day, as it usually means you have to run your @$$ off trying to run down information which supports the moral, healthy side we believe in, while they sit on their duffs, like little princesses, evaluating your efforts, and trying to shoot it all down.

Not so much fun until they finally do themselves in! The bastards have so little to offer, you know. You wonder what drives them to show up, other than pleasing their right-wing inner imbeciles.

[Say_What]

46. Many thanks, Mika!!

That was a great article... "exceptional warrior" :woohoo:

[Say_What]

47. Found the Granma account of the award and info about Leonard Peltier...

<clips>

THE North American Indigenous Movement had already been founded in the streets of Minneapolis, Minnesota when Daniel Yang was born. He’s currently in Cuba as an ambassador for U.S. native peoples and is the godson of Leonard Peltier, that indefatigable warrior unjustly imprisoned for defending the ancestral hopes and rights of his people.

With him are a drum and legendary pipe to help his prayers reach the Great Spirit. His clear voice intones the hymn of the Movement, accompanied by the drum whose beat is the heartbeat of Mother Earth. And although his words might be hard to understand, the message remains strong in the evocation of an ancestral struggle that still has many battles ahead.

The color red predominates in his traditional dress and an aura of mystery envelopes him when he offers us a "purifying" toke on the pipe or when he lights a bowl of dry salvia — the sacred plant of his people, the Anichanabi.

Those traditions stretch back much further than the five centuries that saw the beginning of the North American Native Indians’ struggle against those who are still oppressing and discriminating against them and confining them to reservations.

And these traditions confer the most valuable decoration that a warrior can receive — the eagles’ feather. For the first time ever, he explained, the North American Indigenous Movement has given one to a head of state and someone outside of the United States. It is an exceptional decoration that signifies success, honor and bravery.

http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2003/agosto03/vier29/pluma.html

[Judi Lynn]

64. Thanks for sharing that article. I didn't know Leonard Peltier

has become so depleted in prison. That's very bad news.

[0007]

53. Thanks Mika.

[tainowarrior]

44. I love that shirt...where can I get it? nt?

[Say_What]

45. La Habana...

;-)

[StopTheMorans]

17. just in time, i was feeling a little hungry

:popcorn:

[Pepperbelly]

22. "They broke his bed!"

"Eliaaaaaaaaaaan ..."

:eyes:

[Say_What]

26. Elian's Story for Dummies--lots of photos

http://www.angelfire.com/co/COMMONSENSE/elian.html

[Judi Lynn]

30. Love that link,it's great!Wonderful photo,under the phrase,"Free at last"

This must have been taken during the time they were waiting outside Washington D.C. until they could return home. So damned cute!

[kskiska]

34. How about that "hostage video" they filmed?

It was so obvious that Elian was being prompted off-camera on what to say – "I do NOT want to go back to Cuba."

That was when they jumped the shark. It was very damaging to their case.

When Elian and his father were finally reunited, the "Miami Relatives" tried to say the photos were faked, pointing to shadows, etc. Elian couldn't possibly be happy with his dad, who'd "abused him."

[Judi Lynn]

65. That's true. They even claimed it was a different little boy, since Elian

had shorter or longer hair than the one in the photo!

Then some of them claimed that they drugged Elian on the plane to Maryland.

At one point, someone living next to the house in Georgetown where the lawyer had a dinner/picnic in his backyard for Elián and his family took photos over the fence, claiming to have proof that the dad got wildly drunk, and that there was some Santería going on in there. They sold that story to NewsMax.

They claimed that Fidel Castro planned to sacrifice Elián, also, for some odd reason. I guess it made sense to them, the same guys who burned tires in the streets in Miami to show their disapproval.

[reality based]

41. Here's to Bill Clinton for rescuing the boy from politics.

And did the media, especially Dianne Sawyer, ever apologize for their role in exploiting him?

[Judi Lynn]

43. She surely should have. Diane couldn't have made a bigger ass of herself.

Many people have remarked that it was the Elian thing which turned Miami's "exiles" so rabidly against Al Gore, even though he knew it would happen, and tried to duck the bullet by claiming to support their side.

By doing that, he made a lot of other people good and sick, but not enough to not vote for him, of course. Just steamed! It was obvious he didn't feel anxious to lose the Miami vote, but they turned on him with a fury, anyway. Idiots. Fools.

[Barkley]

48. and Clinton did it w/o an act of Congress (a la Terry Schavio) -nt

[LostinVA]

49. I threw away all of my Gloria Estefan cds during this

When she had her big mouth on TV saying how bad Cuba was, and how the Elian should stay in the US... yadaydadyada... RW talking points galore. Like her Baptisa-loving parents ever told her the truth about anything to do with Cuba, or like she would ever let anyone take away her kids (who she's known to be very, very close to).

Yup, they went into the garbage that day.

And, I actually credit Reno for finally pushing this -- although she dragged her feet too damn long before doing it...

And why the hell didn't those whackos ever serve jail time? Ignoring the orders of US Marshals????? If they ahd been Haitian immigrants, they'd still be in prison....

[tainowarrior]

52. I also stopped listening to Gloria Estefan..

I have her "Mi Tierra" CD, which is wonderfully produced, but I refuse to play it. When it comes on my mp3 player's "shuffle" feature, I skip her songs.

[LostinVA]

57. I wrote her a letter telling her

Never heard from her, of course... very sad she's a Baptista Freeper.... I had been a fan since I was in college and Miami Sound Machine played on the Miss Teen USA pageant.

[Say_What]

58. I stopped watching films with Andy Garcia too

that little display him and Gloria put on at the zoo in Gusanoville made me puke. Her father was a Batista bodyguard and took part in the Bay of Pigs.

[tainowarrior]

59. and I'm sorry.

but that whole Arturo Sandoval movie was pure propaganda.

Did Cuba stifle Jazz? yes. That's true. But the movie oozed Hollywood melodrama. Many musicians perform freely in Cuba. Artists like NG La banda, Irakere, Munequitos de matanzas, Issac Delgado, Azucar Negra, Charanga Habanera, Klimax, Sintesis, and much more.

Cuba is not a martial, Nazi-like regime when it comes to music. The people are free to play what they wish.

[Say_What]

60. I remember that. Gloria's part was a real joke--the entire movie

was blatant spam-in-a-can Miami anti-Cuba propaganda.

I see a Brit judge is now in Cuba to hear testimony from Cuban musicians about their music. A US company signed many of them during the 1940s and 1950s and is now trying to sue Cuba's state-run Editora Musical de Cuba (EMC) for copyright violation. True to character, US companies treated the musicians unscrupulously some of whom were paid "a few pesos and maybe a drink of rum."

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=2005-09-26T212926Z_01_BAU677152_RTRUKOC_0_UK-CUBA-MUSIC.xml

Musica Cubana--the best!!

[NoBushAndCo]

51. That deal was so staged

[genius]

55. I bet Castro's been very friendly to him. Why wouldn't he be?

After all, the kid is the best public relations he's had in years.

[noonwitch]

56. Such a cute kid, he seems happy with his dad

I laugh when the Florida branch of the family say he is brainwashed with propaganda. Just what were they trying to do, buying him all those designer clothes and making that video of him in which they coached him to say he didn't want to go with his dad? Now they made their home into a museum. How is that different from Castro making him a national hero?

I'm not a fan of Castro or communism, but that is not what his case was about anyways. It was about father's rights. Our courts recognized father's rights over politics. Castro didn't win, Elian's dad did.

Our policies toward Cuba are insane. It is amazing that we consider China a trade partner, a government far known for it's brutality, that didn't even care they were on international television when they opened fire on their own young people in Tiannamen Square. Yet Cuba, a tiny nation that has no power to damage our country, gets shunned from trade with it's largest neighbor, because a bunch of anti-Castro cubans form a voting bloc in a swing state. Free trade would help bring an end to communism in Cuba faster than the decades-old embargo, that really has accomplished nothing.

[kskiska]

66. You can bet that if Elian had stayed in the US

he'd have had a seat next to Laura Bush at the State of the Union address. They talk about indoctrination. What do they think the Pledge of Allegiance and Star-Spangled Banner are?

[dback]

61. I'm going to get lynched here, but: I think he should've stayed in the US

I know, I know, that puts me in bed with the right-wing Cuba-hating nutjobs. But in fairness, the law says that if you reach the United States as a political refugee, you are a citizen. Whatever one thinks of the Florida relatives, I still think Elian should've been granted U.S. citizenship (and hopefully a visa sent to his father as well).

It's too bad the whole thing spun out of control like it did, on all sides.

[Mika]

62. A 5 yr old minor can't file for asylum. Period.

"But in fairness, the law says that if you reach the United States as a political refugee, you are a citizen."


US law says no such thing.



The issue relating to the Elian case was twofold: 1)- Jurisdiction regarding the family court proceedings in the case of the joint custody agreement between the legal guardians of the child - his parent(s) (which was in Cuba). 2)- A minor cannot apply for asylum. Only his legal guardian can (see point 1).


The ruling of the 11th circuit court was in accordance with US law and international agreements regarding child custody.