Cuban government releases photos of teenaged Elian Gonzalez (fully re-educated)

yahoo ^

[big black dog]

A decade later, however, there are new photos of a nearly grown-up Elian Gonzalez - and they present a very different kind of propaganda image.

The new pictures show a serious-looking 16-year-old sporting a closely cropped haircut, wearing an olive-green military school uniform with red shoulder patches, as he attends a Young Communist Union meeting. The Cuban government press released the images under the none-too-subtle headline "Young Elian Gonzalez defends his revolution in the youth congress."

Since winning Elian's return to Cuba in 2000, the Castro regime has closely tracked the boy and his father. (Indeed, Cuban State Security has a monitoring station next to their home.) In his homeland, Elian Gonzalez is hailed as a national hero who embodies the triumph of Cuba over the United States. Every few years, the Cuban government has floated news updates and photographs trumpeting Elian's progress as a model young citizen of the Castro regime.

[dashing doofus]

I wonder what types of uniforms our Dear Leader Obama will favor for his civilian corps. Maybe have those rainbow patches on the shoulders....

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

Hey asshole mango tree lawyer Greg Craig.

We have your number here in Panama. Your big deal is to represent crooks here in Panama and become richer. But I will never, ever forgive you for Elian.

May lightning strike you.

[maine-iac7]

The “re-education” didn’t take — in another article it said that Castro is not allowing Elian or his Father to talk to international media by themselvs.

Elian is doing what he needs to do to survive, but you can see from the seriousness of his expression that he does not forget.

Had to wade through to post # 15 to get to an intelligent post that can see what is really there - a young man whose every hour of his life has been programmed, with no possibility of outward rebellion.

If he were truly 'converted' there would be no need of a survelliance post outside his home.

I imagine both father and son are kept in line through threats to the other if they don't toe the mark.

There is no smile, no enthusiastic flag waving - and two pretty big 'guards' close at each side.

Hopefully, one day, he will make it back to freedom...and THAT is Castro's biggest fear. (I hope Elian doesn't meet with an early fate to ensure he never makes it to freedom where he could tell the real story...one every person in the world would hear.)

_{seems like a lotta fair weather friends in FR -}

[HiTech RedNeck]

Looks sort of bored to me.

[lowbridge]

Just like all other previous pics of him in Cuba, I notice theres no smile on his face.

[knarf]

"Looks sort of bored to me."

I don't know ... Looks sort of clean and articulate to me.

Presidential, kind'a

[bert]

He looks Obamaesque to me.

wonder who’s copying who?

[vetvetdoug]

Elian’s Mother would have been proud; celebrate it well as it comes up next month.

[CORedneck]

I could swear that the flag behind Janet Reno looks like the Cuban flag.

[Concentrate]

Sad, sad, sad. Not that I’ve done much about it.

[El Gato]

To bad it wasn't a certain Kenyan that got sent home.

Good looking kid though.

[exit82]

Amen, M.

I believe Elian will yet do his mother proud.

I pray always that will be the case.

Best Freepgards to you.

[dfwgator]

Of course, the astute knew who "his daddy" was along.

Yep.

[El Gato]

Good looking kid though.

Although he looks like he's still suffering from PTSD, from his encounter with Holder and Reno's goons.

[moodyskeptic]

the Bush victory of 2000 was known as Elian’s Revenge.

Democrats threw that boy back to the communist crocodile, and the American Left cheered. I don’t care that Elian is now a loyal party goon, his moment of importance was when he represented freedom over tyranny. Castro won him back, with Clinton/Reno approval and we knew he was “gone” as soon as he was taken at gunpoint from that closet.

If, by some miracle, Elian were to escape back to Florida, you can count on the Left to throw him back to the croc yet again. If they have the White House.

[RedMDer]

One photo with terror on the kid’s face and the second, no smile. Looks stoic.
Very sad. Thanks to Reno, Holder and Bubba.

[SmartInsight]

“If he were truly ‘converted’ there would be no need of a survelliance post outside his home.”

Glad to see there are at least a few us who see the truth and very sad to see the way people have knee-jerk reactions without really thinking and trying to understand the situation. I think the reason is that many people, including conservatives, do not understand what communism really is.

[Ouderkirk]

I think that we understand the desire of Elian’s father to have his child returned to his custody. Yet, we were never able to see what Elian, or his father actually thought since Fidel’s henchmen flanked him every minute of every day while he was in the US and have been with them both since their return to Fidel’s “Island Paradise”.

[Tarpon]

The good news is when you look into the kid’s eyes, you see what Communism is all about. It’s just a blank stare.

[HiTech RedNeck]

And, note, this was a dad who had walked off on the mother and wanted nothing to do with Elian till he turned up in the USA. I guess the socialism in Cuba isn’t so tight that walking off on a wife is forbidden.