Miami Connection
Elián's arrival and the custody battle that followed became a defining moment in Miami history, galvanizing the Cuban-American exile community and sparking massive protests throughout the city when he was returned to Cuba. The incident highlighted deep divisions within Miami's communities and became a symbol of the broader U.S.-Cuba geopolitical struggle during the Cold War era. The April 2000 federal raid and subsequent demonstrations reshaped Miami's political landscape for years to come.
About
Elián González was a six-year-old Cuban boy who fled Cuba with his mother in November 1999 aboard a makeshift raft. The vessel capsized during the journey, and his mother drowned along with most passengers. Elián survived by clinging to an inner tube and was rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard on Thanksgiving Day 1999 off the coast of Dania Beach, Florida. His relatives in Miami took him in, but his father in Cuba and Fidel Castro demanded his return, triggering a prolonged legal and political battle. On April 22, 2000, federal agents raided his Miami relatives' home and returned him to his father. Elián and his father returned to Cuba on June 28, 2000, after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review his asylum case.