Elián was just a six-year-old pioneer when on November 22, 1999, his mother tried to illegally take him out of Cuba, in a rustic boat that sank in the middle of the Strait of Florida.
They traveled to the United States under the promise of permanent residence in that country, following the entry into force of the Cuban Adjustment Act, but only the child and two other people were able to survive.
When some fishermen found him off the Florida coast, the then United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) placed him in the custody of Lázaro González, a great-uncle who lived in the city of Miami and who had only seen him once. .
Elián’s father, Juan Miguel González, was unaware of his son’s departure from Cuba and immediately requested his repatriation, an act that was supported by the Cuban Government and the entire people.
On December 2, 1999, González was received by the historical leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro, who learned about his life, his relationship with the child and even told him that if he wanted to go to the United States to be with his son and stay , there was no problem.
“I told him that I had no interest in going there, what I wanted was to be returned to Elián. And he replied: ‘Don’t worry. Starting tomorrow, the people, the entire country, will turn out to make the claim,'” González recalled.
Fidel Castro knew that in more than 40 years Washington had never agreed to a legal request of that nature, so the return could only be achieved through an intense political battle and national and international public opinion.
This is how on December 5, with the protest of hundreds of young people in front of the then Washington Interests Office (now the embassy) in this capital, the return of the child became a popular demand, which turned all citizens to the streets, with the historical leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, at the forefront.
The event was the prelude to the so-called Battle of Ideas, an initiative of the Commander in Chief, which developed more than 170 programs in the social and economic spheres of Cuba.
On January 5, 2000, the US Naturalization and Immigration Service recognized González’s right of parental authority over his son and on the 14th the deadline set by the US Attorney General, Janet Reno, for Elián’s return to his country ended. ; but such a step was blocked by relatives and anti-Cuban groups in Miami in the courts.
After a long judicial process, in some aspects violating international law and American laws themselves, and with broad support from the North American people, on June 28, the boy Elián was returned to his native soil, under the guardianship of his father, after of a decision of the United States Supreme Court.
Two decades later, he is a young graduate of industrial engineering, a member of the National Assembly and a father committed to his family and his country.
