It could have been a touching fantasy spun by a traumatized boy. Or it could be a piece of crude agit-prop cooked up by his various guardians in Miami’s fierce and defiant Little Havana. His cousin Marisleysis Gonzalez has told reporters that Elian has seen the Virgin Mary in the mirror, while some Cuban-American radio commentators refer to Elian as “Baby Jesus.” On “Good Morning America,” Elian announced that he did not want to see his father, Juan Miguel, ever again. Asked why, he replied, “Because he’ll take me back to Cuba and I don’t want to go to Cuba.” Is that what Elian really believes? Though his parents were divorced, Elian lived with his father, a security guard at a beach resort, and was a reasonably contented child in the city of Cardenas. Fidel Castro launched his own propaganda campaign, declaring that Elian had been “kidnapped.” He vowed to bring home the “boy hero” and “reprogram” him into Cuban culture.
Elian has become a pawn in a weird cross between a cold-war showdown and a soap opera, the Bay of Pigs Meets All My Children. The daily spectacle is vivid and sometimes grotesque, and the outcome suspenseful and potentially violent. Powerful forces have lined up on both sides, often for motives that have more to do with politics than the future happiness of Elian Gonzalez.
An emotional Attorney General Janet Reno declared last week that “the law is clear… Elian should be returned to his father.” Most legal experts agree. Elian, who fled Cuba with his mother and 12 others (11 of whom perished when their boat sank), was an illegal alien when he was rescued by some fishermen off the Florida coast on Thanksgiving Day. But Al Gore, in his most significant break yet with President Bill Clinton, declared that the law should be changed to permit Elian to stay in the United States. Gore’s opponent in November, George W. Bush, scoffed that the veep was a Johnny-come-lately, chasing Florida’s 25 electoral votes by trying to cater to the Cuban-American community. Bush and various other politicians have already gone on record declaring that Elian should not be returned to Cuba. The maneuvering is a sideshow. Supporters of a bill to keep Elian in the United States don’t have the votes to pass it. In the meantime, a federal court of appeals is expected to rule–probably next month–that Elian must be returned to his father in Cuba.
The Feds are trying to negotiate an agreement with Elian’s great-uncle Lazaro Gonzalez to quietly turn over the boy. But the deadline for an agreement kept slip- ping last week as Lazaro balked. It is by no means clear that Elian’s protectors, who include some tough-looking men from the many hard-right anti-Castro groups in Miami, will peacefully give up the boy. There has been talk of a “human chain” around Lazaro’s modest white-stucco bungalow in Little Havana. At the same time, it is hard to imagine Washington’s sending federal agents busting in to seize the child. Local officials warned of riots. Last week Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas vowed that he would hold “the federal government and specifically Janet Reno and the president of the United States responsible.” Sounding like a Southern governor resisting school integration 40 years ago, Penelas went on to irresponsibly declare that “our local law-enforcement resources will not participate in the forced removal or repatriation of Elian Gonzalez, which we would consider illegal.” Accused of inciting trouble, Penelas backed off a bit the next day, saying that he would not condone “inappropriate behavior.”
The way out of this impasse could lie with Elian’s father. He has asked for a visa to come to the United States. His lawyer, Gregory Craig, a former high-ranking State Department official who defended President Clinton during his impeachment trial in the Senate, has been working with the Cuban government. Castro appears willing to let Juan Miguel travel to America even though he might not return. (He could get asylum in an instant.) Miguel’s intentions are unknown. The boy’s father has said only that he will not come to the United States unless he is assured that his son will be turned over to him. At one time, Elian’s relatives said that if his father comes to Miami of his own free will, accompanied by his second wife and new child, they would be willing to hand over the boy. But last week Elian’s family announced that the Feds would have to come seize the child. Ironically, by their intransigence, Elian’s Miami relatives could stand in the way of a peaceful resolution that would be seen as a huge rebuff for Castro.
For now, Castro seems to be enjoying the spectacle. He has stayed in power so long partly by tweaking Uncle Sam. Castro has made a show of Elian, parading schoolchildren in the streets in cardboard handcuffs to illustrate the boy’s plight. He has also played dirty, trying to plant smear stories about Lazaro Gonzalez with the American media, including NEWSWEEK. When the U.S. press refused to bite, Castro held a press conference and described the man as a “pervert.” Castro says he wants to send a large delegation to the United States with Elian’s father. The entourage would include the boy’s teachers, classmates, psychologists and a senior Cuban official, presumably to keep an eye on the father. Elian’s teachers would even bring along his school desk, which has become something of an icon to the Cuban people.
Last December, on Elian’s 6th birthday, Castro went to Elian’s school in Cuba to stand above the little boy’s empty desk, now draped with a Cuban flag. A TV broadcast showed the boy’s father, Juan Miguel, talking to Elian on the phone. “Are you coming back soon?” the father asked. “Yes,” replied a small voice on the other end. “Tell [my classmates] to take care of my things.” But in Florida, Elian was collecting a pile of new toys, including a dune buggy and a shiny red bike. There were trips to Disney World and hugs from Mickey Mouse and Barney. Elian has been seen with wraparound shades, a baseball cap worn backward and Nike shoes. Whether he goes home again or not, it’s hard to imagine Elian will ever have a normal childhood.
