Fourteen years after he
made headlines as the subject of a bitter international custody battle,
Gonzalez spoke to CNN on Tuesday.
It's his first trip
abroad since the U.S. government removed him at gunpoint from his
relatives' home in Miami and, after a legal battle, sent him back to
Cuba to live with his father.
Gonzalez, who turned 20
last week, was just 6 years old when he was found clinging to an inner
tube after the tiny boat he was traveling in from Cuba sank on the way
to the United States. Gonzalez's mother and nine other people in the
boat drowned.
He had harsh words for the United States on Tuesday as he recalled his mother's deadly journey.
Elian Gonzalez, then 6, cowers in the arms of Donato Dalrymple on
April 22, 2000, as federal officers charge in to take custody of the
boy.
"Just like her, many
others have died attempting to go to the United States. But it's the
U.S. government's fault. Their unjust embargo provokes an internal and
critical economic situation in Cuba," Gonzalez said.
"But, despite that, Cuba,
even with all its problems has progressed over the years. The progress
we've made is all thanks to Cuba's courage, our dignity, our continued
fight for a more just model."
Gonzalez is in Quito,
Ecuador, for the World Festival of Youth and Students, a left-wing
conference attracting more than 10,000 people from all over the world to
discuss global struggles against imperialism.
He told CNN en Español that he has been asked to speak at the conference, but isn't quite sure what his topic will be.
"My topic could range
anywhere from the lifting of the unjust blockade on Cuba to the freedom
of the 'Cuban Five.' The main reason we're here is because we want a
revolutionary progressive movement that leads to socialism," he said.
The five Cubans
imprisoned in the United States are convicted on charges of espionage,
but are considered heroes in Cuba because many believe they prevented
acts of terrorism on the island.
After his rescue in 1999, Gonzalez was placed with relatives in Miami, who wanted to keep him in the United States.
But Gonzalez's father,
Juan Miguel, fought to bring him back to Cuba. Then-Cuban leader Fidel
Castro led massive protests in Cuba demanding Gonzalez's return. The
case of the telegenic boy became a flashpoint between supporters and
opponents of Castro's revolution.
As the two sides fought
the high-profile case in court, U.S. immigration officials decided to
put Gonzalez in the custody of his father, who had come to the United
States to argue for Elian's return. His relatives in Miami refused to go
along, and armed U.S. federal agents then raided the home of Gonzalez's
uncle and seized the boy.
Some experts at the time
worried Gonzalez would suffer a lifetime of trauma as a result of the
dispute, or become a political pawn for the Cuban government.
After Gonzalez's return
to Cuba, the government there celebrated a political victory but largely
kept Gonzalez out of public view and surrounded by government
bodyguards.
But the case had an
undeniable impact on Gonzalez's life. Fidel Castro attended his 7th
birthday party. His father went from being a waiter to being a member of
the country's national assembly.
Now he studies engineering at a military school in Cuba and appears to be emerging as a new spokesman for the Cuban government.
When asked by CNN en
Español to describe what his life has been like since he left Miami,
Gonzalez said "magnificent." In Cuba, he said, everywhere he goes he
feels the love and support of his fellow Cubans.
"I haven't suffered any
consequences because of what happened. It has not affected me
psychologically, but it has been hard for my family," Gonzalez said.
"Those were tough times."
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