Posted on 08/01/2004 2:57:57 PM PDT by Libloather
4 years after return to Cuba, Elian a normal schoolboy
BY MAKI BECKER
New York Daily News
Posted on Sat, Jul. 31, 2004
NEW YORK - (KRT) - Elian Gonzalez, now 10, hits the books in Cardenas, Cuba, where he lives with his father.
Four years after little Elian Gonzalez was plucked from the seas off Florida's coast and sparked an international custody battle, the young boy is leading a sheltered and almost normal life back in Cuba.
Elian lives with his father in their hometown of Cardenas and he still sports the same impish grin that captivated the world back in 2000.
In an interview with NBC's "Dateline" to air Sunday, Elian's father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, says he has generally kept Elian out of the limelight, even moving to a secret location in town to avoid the press.
"The media (in Miami) intimidated him, pressured him most of all," Gonzalez said in his first interview in three years. "It totally overwhelmed him."
As Elian's American relatives fought to keep him in the U.S. and his father sought to take him back to Cuba, hundreds of reporters camped out outside their Miami home, recording every movement of the photogenic little boy.
The custody clash even led to a war of words between Cuban dictator Fidel Castro and the boy's fiercely anti-Castro American relatives.
The stalemate ended dramatically as heavily armed federal officers stormed the house in the middle of the night, snatched the terrified boy and took him into protective custody.
Elian still grieves for his mother who drowned when their boat capsized on its way to Florida, Gonzalez said, but he has adjusted to life well.
"I can truly say that since his return, my son has never had to see a psychologist, or anyone else," Gonzalez told "Dateline NBC."
Elian is learning karate and has two girlfriends, Gonzalez reports.
He was taken away from his Miami family by force and sent back to Cuba for political reasons.
Sure I do. I'm a taxpayer and I have every right to damn federal agents for trying to hide behind the "I was only following orders defense."
It really is a shame that there wasn't a large group of armed citizens there in the house that night. I doubt any jury in Miami would have convicted them of shooting some jack-booted thugs.
No.
As much as I HATE BJ Clinton, even I have to give him credit on that one. It was against Algore's best interest to send him back to Cuba. If they were interested in politics, they would have bowed to the lawless mob in Miami (Hoever right they thought they were, they were acting lawless) and carried Florida in 2000.
Well, it's nice to see that this issue is not as contentious as it was four years ago.....................
You have no business determining whether my ex-husband should have resigned from his job.
You have the right as a taxpayer to question the government , but you have no right to determine what any individual person should have done.
He was not in the house, he did not point a gun at anyone. He did not beat anyone up or use tear gas.
You are just plain hateful and evil if you are saying that you wish my ex-husband would have been killed.
I am desperately sorry I posted on this thread, that's for sure.
The way I see it, sending Elian back was no different than when Western countries refused to take in Jewish refugees during WWII.
Ah. I see. Can't let the locals get too uppity towards the high and mighty federal authorities, now can we?
Correction moderator... that should have been post 148.
It is causing lots of trouble that I did not intend.
Stop it.
It's an interesting discussion. Hard to have without the typical name-calling, but interesting.
Here's a gallery of those who stood alongside you defending parental rights...nice company you keep.
Now, here is a partial list of those who supported Elian's right to live free in the US:
Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Norman Podhoretz, William Buckley, Joseph Farrah, Michael Medved...the list goes on.
Oh, and by the way, the case could be made that Ronald Reagan would have supported Elian as well.
I remember when it happened. I had, for reasons which still are not clear, not yet discovered FR and was discussing it on other boards--USA Today discussion boards, IIRC.
Those debates got vicious. :o)
OK...Now, tell me all that you believe. Then I'll post pictures of selective liberals who believe the same things. You know, the kind of people YOU stand with.
Weak. REAL weak, man.
Stop what? Disagreeing with you? Sorry, not going to happen.
Sean Hannity thought the same as MB but changed his mind BTW. Meanwhile, I find this comment hysterical...
"they would have bowed to the lawless mob in Miami (Hoever right they thought they were, they were acting lawless"
You wished my ex-husband had been killed.
That's not disagreeing. That's evil.
I don't mind heated discussions, those are fun. But it's the kind of people who post pictures of liberal pukes and then compare them to you because of one opinion that are out of line.
But, we're talking about THIS issue, aren't we?
And you're making the argument that Bill Clinton, Janet Reno, and Fidel Castro were all acting in defense of parental rights.
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