Elián González, who was caught in an international custody battle 23 years ago between the U.S. and Cuba, is now a member of Cuba's Congress. He says he wants to contribute to make Cuba 'a better country.'
HAVANA — Elián González has the same big, expressive eyes he did 23 years ago when an international custody battle transformed him into the face of the long-strained relations between Cuba and the United States.
González has given only a handful of interviews since he was unwittingly thrust into the geopolitical spotlight as a boy. In 1999, at just 5 years old, he and his mother were aboard a boat of Cuban migrants headed toward Florida when the boat capsized in the Florida Straits. His mother and 10 others died while González, tied to an inner tube, drifted in open water until his rescue.
“Not having my mom has been difficult, it has been a burden, but it has not been an obstacle when I have had a father who has stood up for me and been by my side,” González told AP. Dressed in black pants and T-shirt, with a discreet braided bracelet on his right hand and his wedding ring on his left, González was interviewed in Havana’s Capitol, the renovated seat of congress.
Over the years, González was a military cadet and later became an industrial engineer. Because Cuba’s congressional positions are unpaid, he will continue to work his tourism job. It also comes at a moment of heightened tensions between the two nations. There have been allegations that Cuba hosted a Chinese spy base, which Cuba adamantly denies. Meanwhile, Cuba claims Biden has yet to ease tough policies enacted by former U.S. President Donald Trump that target the island, while the U.S. points to the resumption of some flights and sending of remittances.
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