Elian Gonzalez’s U.S. Return: Mom Saved Cuban Man, But He Still Sides With Dad

Elian Gonzalez’s mom, Elizabet Broton Rodríguez, may have made it possible for the now-grown Cuban man to return to the U.S. in the future, but it turns out the once-castaway believes his mother was wrong to have taken him away from Cuba. At the same time, Elian is grateful for what she did in order to keep him alive.

Elian, now 21, was born to divorced parents and in 1999, his mother attempted to escape the Castro regime on a boat along with 10 other Cuban refugees. This effort failed, and while Elian barely survived his mother perished.

“I remember when the boat capsized, when we fell on the sea. I remember when I was put on the raft and my mom was covering me and I was raising my head, looking around… and at some point I raised my head and I didn’t see her again,” he said. “There was no-one else. I was alone in the middle of the sea… and that’s the last thing I remember.”

The five-year-old boy was found by Florida fishermen floating in the water all alone 60 miles north of Miami. Extended members of Elian’s family let the boy stay with them, but he became a symbol of the long-running feud between the Cuban government and Cuban exiles living in South Florida.

Relatives believed Elian Gonzalez’s mom would have wanted him to stay inside the United States, but his father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, wanted him back in Cuba. The resulting legal battle ended when U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno and President Bill Clinton ordered that Elián’s relatives in Miami surrender him to Justice Department custody.

This led to a dramatic mission by U.S. Marshals to seize young Elian and force him to leave the U.S. for good. Photos at the time showed men armed with guns holding Elian as he was taken away.

When interviewed about the incident, the young man says his mother was wrong to take him from Cuba but he always remembers how she did her best to allow him to survive.

“I believe that if today she is not here with me it is because she fought until the very last minute for me to survive,” he said. “After giving life to me, I believe she was the one who saved me. She was the one who gave life back to me at a time of danger.”

The young Cuban man is currently studying engineering and he has a girlfriend named Ilianet Escaño. They are engaged and it’s possible Elian Gonzalez’s U.S. return may become a possibility in the future.

“For my family it has always been, we always have the desire to say to the American people, to say to each household our gratitude, appreciation and love that we have,” he said, according to ABC. “Perhaps one day we could pay a visit to the United States. I could personally thank those people who helped us, who were there by our side. Because we’re so grateful for what they did.”

[Images via ABC and Biography.com]