0:00:07 > 0:00:15This programme contains very strong language.
0:00:19 > 0:00:20SHOUTING
0:01:30 > 0:01:33I remember that day very vividly.
0:01:34 > 0:01:36It was Thanksgiving.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39It was pitch-black to the north,
0:01:39 > 0:01:43and to the east was, like, this ray of light
0:01:43 > 0:01:46coming up with us, where the sun was starting to come up.
0:01:47 > 0:01:49They called me the fisherman,
0:01:49 > 0:01:51but I really hadn't been out fishing a lot.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56My cousin, Sam, he is more of a fisherman than me.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59He said, "Look for seaweed, look for debris,"
0:01:59 > 0:02:01anything that was floating on the ocean's surface.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06Maybe, like, three miles off the coast, I said to him,
0:02:06 > 0:02:08"Like that inner tube right there?"
0:02:08 > 0:02:10He said, "Yeah, go over there."
0:02:12 > 0:02:15And I said to my cousin, "Look at that, it's a sick joke."
0:02:15 > 0:02:17We thought it was a doll tied to an inner tube.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20We thought it was, like, a joke, you know?
0:02:20 > 0:02:21We're rocking all over the boat
0:02:21 > 0:02:25and all of a sudden I see the hand move.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28He goes, "Hurry! Go, go, go, go!"
0:02:28 > 0:02:30Before I could blink my eyes,
0:02:30 > 0:02:32my cousin's not on the boat any longer.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35He's in the water and he's screaming, "It's a baby!"
0:02:35 > 0:02:37When I got underneath him, he reached over, he grabbed me
0:02:37 > 0:02:40by the neck and I tried to kick my way back to the boat.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45I'm trying not to fall into the water and he's trying to push up.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48And I just grabbed this child and I held him in my arms.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50And then my cousin got on the phone with his wife.
0:02:58 > 0:02:59WHIRRING
0:03:00 > 0:03:04All the local news stations, they were out there on helicopters.
0:03:04 > 0:03:05They were thinking, "Wow, this is
0:03:05 > 0:03:07"a little bigger than what we thought it was."
0:03:10 > 0:03:12Don't worry about me. Just go ahead.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16SIRENS WAIL
0:03:24 > 0:03:26Watch him.
0:03:30 > 0:03:31Do you know this boy?
0:03:42 > 0:03:43CHANTING
0:03:46 > 0:03:47CHANTING
0:04:04 > 0:04:06SHOUTING
0:04:23 > 0:04:25- NEWS ANCHORS:- And from the ocean waters off the coast
0:04:25 > 0:04:28of Florida tonight, a real-life Thanksgiving story to tell you...
0:04:28 > 0:04:30..found him clinging to an inner tube on Thanksgiving...
0:04:30 > 0:04:32..part of a group of 13 Cuban rafters,
0:04:32 > 0:04:34only two others rescued alive...
0:04:34 > 0:04:36Elian's mother is believed to have drowned,
0:04:36 > 0:04:39but he has cousins he just met in Miami.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48This is the story of a little boy from Cuba,
0:04:48 > 0:04:51whose mother died bringing him to freedom in the United States.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56Or maybe it's the story of a boy shipwrecked in Miami,
0:04:56 > 0:04:58whose Cuban father just wanted him back.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03It was always supposed to be Elian's story.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06Although a lot of other people would try to make it their own.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12The first thing that came to my mind -
0:05:12 > 0:05:15how did he survive by himself, when he's only five?
0:05:15 > 0:05:18And the only thing I could probably say is that it's just a miracle.
0:05:19 > 0:05:21God wanted him here for freedom.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25- So, he is here.- And he's here, and he will get it.
0:05:26 > 0:05:28I'll never forget.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30He was sitting there, he was about to have soup.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33The first thing I said was, "Don't eat that."
0:05:33 > 0:05:36So he just looks straight up at me and he's like, "Is it bad?"
0:05:36 > 0:05:37And I'm like, "Yes. Don't eat that.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39"We'll get you something better than that."
0:05:39 > 0:05:42That moment was our first connection.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46And then, after that, he would always ask me for everything.
0:05:46 > 0:05:51Every raft that would come from Cuba, you would always see it on TV,
0:05:51 > 0:05:53so when I saw the press there, to me that was normal,
0:05:53 > 0:05:55- that's what they're there for. - CAMERA SHUTTERS
0:05:55 > 0:05:59When Elian and his cousin Marisleysis waved goodbye
0:05:59 > 0:06:00from the hospital the next day,
0:06:00 > 0:06:02the story could have ended there.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05Another Cuban rafter makes his home in Miami.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07Ready to go home!
0:06:10 > 0:06:14Like so many Cuban families, the Gonzales clan had come apart
0:06:14 > 0:06:16in the years after Fidel Castro's revolution.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21From the small town of Cardenas on Cuba's north coast, aunts and uncles
0:06:21 > 0:06:25of Elian's father had made their way across the Florida Straits,
0:06:25 > 0:06:28settling in the Miami enclaves of Hialeah and Little Havana.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43The eldest of Elian's great-uncles, Delphin,
0:06:43 > 0:06:46had come in the late 1970s after spending years
0:06:46 > 0:06:49as a political prisoner in Castro's jails.
0:06:49 > 0:06:51He found a quiet life in the Florida Keys,
0:06:51 > 0:06:54where he made his living selling lobster traps.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57Delphin's younger brother, Lazaro, followed
0:06:57 > 0:06:59with his wife and two children.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02He worked mostly as an auto-body repair man,
0:07:02 > 0:07:04but struggled to find a steady job.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07Lazaro's daughter, Marisleysis,
0:07:07 > 0:07:11had arrived in the United States when she was Elian's age.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14At 21, she processed loans at a local bank
0:07:14 > 0:07:17and dreamed of opening a hair salon.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19I'm told that of all the family members,
0:07:19 > 0:07:22you're the one that Elian has bonded with most.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24- Do you feel that bond?- I sure do.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30Definitely. I feel like he's been my brother since a little kid.
0:07:34 > 0:07:35CHUCKLING
0:07:51 > 0:07:54So, if this little boy has to go back to Cuba,
0:07:54 > 0:07:56it would really break your heart, wouldn't it?
0:07:59 > 0:08:00Sorry.
0:08:03 > 0:08:04His mum died for him.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09And...I feel that he deserves to be here.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11Cos that's what his mum wanted,
0:08:11 > 0:08:13and his mum is first, to me.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19We were all so scared to ask him what happened.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23And then there was that day where he said,
0:08:23 > 0:08:25"And I woke up and my mum was not there.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28"She must have drowned. She drowned."
0:08:28 > 0:08:33I swallowed real hard and I grind my teeth not to cry.
0:08:33 > 0:08:38And I looked at him and I said, "She's always watching over you,
0:08:38 > 0:08:40"so don't ever say your mum's dead,
0:08:40 > 0:08:42"because she has to always live in your heart."
0:10:05 > 0:10:08In Cuba, Elian's father, Juan Miguel,
0:10:08 > 0:10:11hadn't known that his ex-wife and her boyfriend had taken Elian away
0:10:11 > 0:10:14on a home-made boat, hoping to start their lives over
0:10:14 > 0:10:16in the United States.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18Frantic to find them,
0:10:18 > 0:10:20Juan Miguel and his parents immediately began calling
0:10:20 > 0:10:23their relatives in Miami. But almost from the start,
0:10:23 > 0:10:27the two sides of the family were talking past each other.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46I remember my dad saying that, you know,
0:10:46 > 0:10:50"Juan Miguel says to take care of him till he can come over here."
0:10:50 > 0:10:53In the beginning of everything, I always had a picture in my mind that
0:10:53 > 0:10:56he was going to come and stay, and it was like, "Wow, my whole family's
0:10:56 > 0:10:57"going to be reunited."
0:11:00 > 0:11:03Juan Miguel's branch of the family was rooted comfortably in Cuba.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06He and his parents were loyal members
0:11:06 > 0:11:08of the ruling Communist Party,
0:11:08 > 0:11:10and Juan Miguel, who had remarried,
0:11:10 > 0:11:14had a good job at the nearby beach resort of Varadero.
0:11:14 > 0:11:15When they needed help,
0:11:15 > 0:11:18they didn't hesitate to ask the Cuban government.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49INAUDIBLE
0:11:51 > 0:11:54Miguel, how's it going? Good. Good to see you.
0:11:54 > 0:11:55Hey, Mark, how's it going?
0:11:55 > 0:11:58You've got some gifts there that the Congresswoman wants to give you.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01As soon as Elian's rescue made the local news,
0:12:01 > 0:12:05uninvited guests began to descend on the Gonzales home in Little Havana.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08People are literally dying to flee Cuba.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12Among the first was Jorge Mas Santos, the head of the most powerful exile group -
0:12:12 > 0:12:14the Cuban-American National foundation.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20When we saw this image of this young boy who lost his
0:12:20 > 0:12:22mother at sea, I think the image of everything that
0:12:22 > 0:12:23Cuban Americans felt.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27I thought the Cuban-American National foundation should use this
0:12:27 > 0:12:30as messaging of a human story, of a human tragedy.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34That's why we developed a poster and a campaign to bring attention to
0:12:34 > 0:12:36something that we need to stop.
0:12:36 > 0:12:42This is a typical tragic Miami story that has to do with people trying to
0:12:42 > 0:12:44leave Cuba and drowning at sea.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50We sent that out to a lot of different media.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52All of a sudden, it became a national story.
0:12:53 > 0:12:59They made T-shirts with Elian's picture and they disseminated it, choosing to highlight Elian.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02It caught the interest of Fidel Castro immediately.
0:13:02 > 0:13:07And it made Fidel Castro focus laser beam on Elian and said,
0:13:07 > 0:13:12"I am going to use this opportunity to get back at the Miami community."
0:13:12 > 0:13:14And he did it perfectly.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17CHEERING
0:13:40 > 0:13:41CHANTING: Fidel! Fidel! Fidel!
0:14:42 > 0:14:45APPLAUSE
0:14:50 > 0:14:53NBC News In Depth tonight - the struggle over a little boy.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56White House officials clearly don't want this dispute to become a big
0:14:56 > 0:14:57international incident.
0:14:57 > 0:15:01"Don't forget that country is in an election campaign," says Castro.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05America has determined enemies who hate our values.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07We've just begun to fight!
0:15:07 > 0:15:10Well, of course I'd rather grow up in the United States.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12But...
0:15:12 > 0:15:14There may be other considerations there.
0:15:14 > 0:15:18Cuban officials are promising twice as many protesters today, as this
0:15:18 > 0:15:20country unites around the powerful symbol
0:15:20 > 0:15:23of a six-year-old child caught between two worlds.
0:15:42 > 0:15:48The Elian case was a very important national unifying factor.
0:15:48 > 0:15:54It was a moment in the long history of confrontation
0:15:54 > 0:15:57between Cuba and the US.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59LOUD EXPLOSION, SCREAMING
0:16:03 > 0:16:06The uprising that brought Fidel Castro to power in 1959
0:16:06 > 0:16:08overthrew a brutal dictatorship
0:16:08 > 0:16:10that was closely allied with United States.
0:16:10 > 0:16:16The revolutionaries promised a more just and democratic society,
0:16:16 > 0:16:20even as Castro consolidated his own power quickly and ruthlessly.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26Well-off Cubans began fleeing to Miami
0:16:26 > 0:16:28as soon as the rebels took power.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32And the exodus continued as Castro confiscated private property
0:16:32 > 0:16:36and nationalised American-owned oil refineries.
0:16:36 > 0:16:37- REPORTER:- Are you a Communist, Fidel?
0:16:37 > 0:16:41Well...well, wait for the history.
0:16:41 > 0:16:43The history will state what we are.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46With Castro drawing closer to the Soviets,
0:16:46 > 0:16:49the American government punished Cuba with an economic embargo.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54Then it backed an invasion by Cuban exiles at the Bay Of Pigs.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04The bitter exiles would blame their defeat on the Americans'
0:17:04 > 0:17:06half-hearted support.
0:17:07 > 0:17:09But Castro revelled in his victory,
0:17:09 > 0:17:12which made him a hero to revolutionaries around the world,
0:17:12 > 0:17:15and gave him enemies in Miami and Washington that he would exploit
0:17:15 > 0:17:17for years to come.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53New waves of Cuban refugees poured into Miami.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58What are conditions like there now?
0:17:58 > 0:18:03- In Cuba?- Yes.- Bad condition. We have no address, we have no food.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06We have difficulty for all things there.
0:18:06 > 0:18:08Where do you plan to settle here in the United States?
0:18:08 > 0:18:12In Miami. Where my mother lives, and my sister.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47The Cold War never ended in Miami.
0:18:47 > 0:18:52A mother died getting her kid out of Cuba, to get him to freedom.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54Of course we're going to hold that child,
0:18:54 > 0:18:56because we don't want him to go back.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYS
0:19:09 > 0:19:11We really want, we NEED him here.
0:19:11 > 0:19:15We have a role to play in protecting freedom.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17And when people risk everything to come, even if
0:19:17 > 0:19:19they are a five-year-old kid, they ought to be allowed to stay.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36Relatives of Elian Gonzales say they saw a different side
0:19:36 > 0:19:39of the six-year-old - a boy simply filled with joy and happiness
0:19:39 > 0:19:43at the Disney World visit, but family spokesman Armando Gutierrez
0:19:43 > 0:19:46says Elian showed some lingering signs of his ordeal
0:19:46 > 0:19:49and rescue at sea when he went on the It's A Small World water ride.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53He was a little bit frightened at one time with the boat and
0:19:53 > 0:19:55asked the question, "Is this boat going to sink?"
0:19:59 > 0:20:02Toys for a tot torn between two countries.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06Elian Gonzales has officially captivated a community.
0:20:10 > 0:20:12CHEERING
0:21:09 > 0:21:12We wanted to give him a life where he felt comfortable
0:21:12 > 0:21:13and everything was normal.
0:21:15 > 0:21:17Then we got him to go to school.
0:21:17 > 0:21:18He was so happy to go to school.
0:21:30 > 0:21:32CHILDREN CHANT: Elian! Elian! Elian! Elian!
0:21:42 > 0:21:49# Does that star-spangled banner yet wave
0:21:49 > 0:21:53# O'er the land of the free
0:21:53 > 0:22:00# And the home of the brave? #
0:22:28 > 0:22:30They were summoned by President Fidel Castro
0:22:30 > 0:22:34for what he calls the second stage of the battle of the masses.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38Thousands demonstrated again in front of the US diplomatic mission
0:22:38 > 0:22:39in Havana.
0:22:39 > 0:22:43Fidel asked me to work with Juan Miguel to help him
0:22:43 > 0:22:46to recover his child.
0:22:46 > 0:22:51Everybody in this island was on the side of Elian,
0:22:51 > 0:22:52his father, and his family.
0:23:08 > 0:23:10- NEWS ANCHORS:- The boy's father joined other Cubans
0:23:10 > 0:23:13at a weekend rally demanding the child be returned.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16American immigration officials will interview the father
0:23:16 > 0:23:19here in Cuba to give him a chance to assert his rights
0:23:19 > 0:23:21and prove his paternity.
0:23:21 > 0:23:26We have this very unusual circumstance of a father in Cuba
0:23:26 > 0:23:29asking for the son to be returned to him.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32It was pretty unprecedented.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35I mean, typically, people who came to the United States from Cuba
0:23:35 > 0:23:37came because they wanted to stay here.
0:23:40 > 0:23:42As the immigration service,
0:23:42 > 0:23:46we had to determine whether this WAS actually the father,
0:23:46 > 0:23:52and, since the child had come to the United States with the mother,
0:23:52 > 0:23:55whether the father had a relationship with the child.
0:23:55 > 0:23:57What was the family's story?
0:24:49 > 0:24:52Juan Miguel and Elisa had married as teenagers.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55And it had taken them years, and seven miscarriages,
0:24:55 > 0:24:57before Elian was born.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02Strains on the marriage eventually led them to separate.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05But they set aside their differences to build a new relationship around
0:25:05 > 0:25:06the son they both adored.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26# Happy birthday to you... #
0:25:32 > 0:25:36# Happy birthday, dear Elian.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39# Happy birthday to you. #
0:27:12 > 0:27:17For me, seeing my cousin on TV speaking the way he used to speak
0:27:17 > 0:27:21about us and then seeing Fidel next to him,
0:27:21 > 0:27:23made me think, "Are you for real,
0:27:23 > 0:27:25"or do you just have to play this role?"
0:27:27 > 0:27:30My Uncle Delfin said to me,
0:27:30 > 0:27:32"That's probably not even what he really wants to say,
0:27:32 > 0:27:34"so don't take it to heart."
0:27:34 > 0:27:37Delfin was a person that I listened to
0:27:37 > 0:27:43because that was the person that I knew that experienced
0:27:43 > 0:27:47the torturing of Cuba when he was in prison.
0:27:47 > 0:27:50He would say, "That is how the government works.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52"They try to destroy the family.
0:27:52 > 0:27:54"They try to keep us apart."
0:27:55 > 0:27:59So I was fighting for both of their freedom because I was hoping
0:27:59 > 0:28:04for the day Juan Miguel could meet with Elian here and be free as well.
0:28:06 > 0:28:07His cousin.
0:28:07 > 0:28:09Cousin.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17What do you want everybody to know about how you're feeling right now?
0:28:17 > 0:28:19Well, right now I'm feeling that if it will be up to him...
0:28:19 > 0:28:22I want him to stay. It is not my decision and it is very hard for me.
0:28:22 > 0:28:25So... I just hope they made the right decision.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31The case of Elian Gonzales has been a difficult one,
0:28:31 > 0:28:36complicated by the fact that several people, other than Elian's father,
0:28:36 > 0:28:38claimed to represent him.
0:28:41 > 0:28:47INS has determined that Elian should be reunited with his father.
0:28:47 > 0:28:49And then we said...
0:28:49 > 0:28:54By January 14th, he is to be turned over to the INS,
0:28:54 > 0:28:56so that he can be returned to his father.
0:28:56 > 0:28:58What did I think at that time?
0:28:58 > 0:29:00Did I think it would happen? I don't know.
0:29:02 > 0:29:06Marisleysis, could we ask you about your reaction?
0:29:06 > 0:29:09They are only letting the dad decide what's best for the kid
0:29:09 > 0:29:11and everything like that. As we all know,
0:29:11 > 0:29:14when Elian came and found himself lonely in this country
0:29:14 > 0:29:17without no family, without his dad not having the freedom
0:29:17 > 0:29:20to get an aeroplane and come here to support his child
0:29:20 > 0:29:22when he most really needed it,
0:29:22 > 0:29:25because he couldn't even sit down in a bed because he will fall,
0:29:25 > 0:29:28I was there and so was my family supporting that.
0:29:28 > 0:29:32Until then, they didn't let us support him and being there for him.
0:29:32 > 0:29:36Why aren't we given the opportunity at this point to speak for him?
0:29:36 > 0:29:39His dad doesn't have freedom because otherwise, as a father,
0:29:39 > 0:29:41as we all know, we would do the best for our child.
0:29:41 > 0:29:44We would have got on an aeroplane and come to this country
0:29:44 > 0:29:47and see how was our kid. And his words were,
0:29:47 > 0:29:49"I haven't lost anything there."
0:29:49 > 0:29:50What about your son?
0:29:50 > 0:29:52A fight was on, a fight was on.
0:29:58 > 0:30:00This community has asked for, since day one,
0:30:00 > 0:30:03the due process of Elian Gonzales.
0:30:03 > 0:30:04With help from Jorge Mas,
0:30:04 > 0:30:07the family tried to go around the immigration service, turning to some
0:30:07 > 0:30:11of the Cuban American National Foundation's powerful allies
0:30:11 > 0:30:12in Washington.
0:30:12 > 0:30:14We thought the best way to make sure that the judicial process
0:30:14 > 0:30:17was followed was the issue of subpoena.
0:30:17 > 0:30:21This is a federal subpoena which we believe protects Elian Gonzales
0:30:21 > 0:30:23from being forcibly and illegally removed
0:30:23 > 0:30:26from the United States, back to Cuba.
0:30:27 > 0:30:30In Miami, people celebrated the subpoena, which orders
0:30:30 > 0:30:33little Elian to appear before US Congress in an effort
0:30:33 > 0:30:35to delay his return to Cuba.
0:30:37 > 0:30:41Several congressmen and at least one senator say they will offer bills
0:30:41 > 0:30:47as early as February to grant Elian Gonzales permanent US citizenship.
0:30:47 > 0:30:48But it's not just Congress.
0:30:48 > 0:30:51At last night's Republican presidential debate,
0:30:51 > 0:30:54all the candidates demand that Elian be allowed to stay here
0:30:54 > 0:30:56and his father allowed to join him if he wishes.
0:30:56 > 0:30:58The man ought to be brought to the United States,
0:30:58 > 0:31:01given a whiff of freedom so he can see how wonderful our country is.
0:31:01 > 0:31:04- NEWS ANCHOR:- Why has this become so political?
0:31:04 > 0:31:06Because Cuban-Americans are a critical voting bloc
0:31:06 > 0:31:10in Florida's Republican presidential primary and a lucrative source
0:31:10 > 0:31:13of campaign money for BOTH political parties.
0:31:13 > 0:31:17The six-year-old may have even more politicians as playmates.
0:31:19 > 0:31:23I know that this is where he wants to stay, and if that is the case,
0:31:23 > 0:31:26I will take care of him like if he would be my son.
0:31:26 > 0:31:32But I feel that we should have the right to take his chance to court.
0:31:36 > 0:31:37Can you remember when you were six?
0:31:41 > 0:31:43There were some days I wanted to run away from home.
0:31:44 > 0:31:47And there were other days I wanted my mommy so bad I couldn't stand it.
0:31:48 > 0:31:51I think the law has indicated and it's certainly, I think,
0:31:51 > 0:31:55the experience of most people that six years old is too young
0:31:55 > 0:31:57to speak for themselves.
0:31:57 > 0:32:01Under US law, it was the Attorney General, Janet Reno,
0:32:01 > 0:32:03who had the final say on Elian's immigration case.
0:32:04 > 0:32:06Trying to find a compromise,
0:32:06 > 0:32:09she set aside the deadline for returning Elian to Cuba,
0:32:09 > 0:32:13and invited his Miami relatives to plead their case.
0:32:13 > 0:32:15Today we have filed a very significant lawsuit
0:32:15 > 0:32:16in federal court.
0:32:18 > 0:32:22It is the case of Elian Gonzales versus Janet Reno.
0:32:22 > 0:32:26My hope is that people will look at this little boy
0:32:26 > 0:32:30and get him into a situation where he can live a normal life
0:32:30 > 0:32:34without television cameras and the world in his face.
0:33:04 > 0:33:07Elian himself had said almost nothing in public
0:33:07 > 0:33:08during his time in Miami.
0:33:10 > 0:33:12But one night in January,
0:33:12 > 0:33:15a camera caught him yelling at a passing aeroplane.
0:33:15 > 0:33:18And his words quickly became a point of contention.
0:33:32 > 0:33:36The family disputed the initial translation by local television
0:33:36 > 0:33:38and insisted that Elian had really said
0:33:38 > 0:33:40he DIDN'T want to return to Cuba.
0:33:40 > 0:33:43- TRANSLATION: - He has been manipulated.
0:33:43 > 0:33:44That is what really concerns me
0:33:44 > 0:33:47and has been concerning me for a long time.
0:33:47 > 0:33:49It has been suggested, in some quarters,
0:33:49 > 0:33:52and I'm going to give you the opportunity to respond,
0:33:52 > 0:33:54that the reason you did not come to Miami
0:33:54 > 0:33:56is because the Cuban government is afraid
0:33:56 > 0:33:59that once you get to Miami, you will defect.
0:33:59 > 0:34:01How do you respond to that?
0:34:01 > 0:34:03- TRANSLATION:- Who said that? Who said that?
0:34:04 > 0:34:08I think I have been extremely clear.
0:34:08 > 0:34:12People think, or some people think, that I am under pressure here.
0:34:13 > 0:34:16I have always said, I haven't lost anything in Miami.
0:34:18 > 0:34:22And sometimes what I would like to do is go down there with a rifle,
0:34:22 > 0:34:24I don't know, to get rid of how many people.
0:34:24 > 0:34:26Are you serious about that, sir?
0:34:26 > 0:34:29That's obviously a very inflammatory remark.
0:34:29 > 0:34:34And what about... Isn't it inflammatory, what they are doing
0:34:34 > 0:34:36with my son?
0:34:36 > 0:34:39I did see his anger. And I did see his frustration.
0:34:40 > 0:34:43But as a parent, you get on the first flight you can
0:34:43 > 0:34:45and you just come and get your child.
0:34:45 > 0:34:48He's not allowed to do that. I had to take care of his child,
0:34:48 > 0:34:50my dad had to shelter his child.
0:34:52 > 0:34:55Juan Miguel's frustration should be with the Cuban government,
0:34:55 > 0:34:57not with me, or with our family.
0:35:00 > 0:35:02Neither Juan Miguel nor the Cuban government
0:35:02 > 0:35:05offered any compelling reason why he couldn't just go and get his son.
0:35:07 > 0:35:09Cuban officials cited concerns for his safety in Miami.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13But the widespread belief there was that Fidel either feared Juan Miguel
0:35:13 > 0:35:17would defect or simply wanted to keep the battle going
0:35:17 > 0:35:19for as long as he could.
0:35:20 > 0:35:25This was not a simple matter of a parent saying, "I miss my child,
0:35:25 > 0:35:27"I need to bring my child home."
0:35:27 > 0:35:31This was going to take time and there was always the possibility
0:35:31 > 0:35:34that they would not be able to get him home.
0:35:36 > 0:35:41I've been involved in Cuba for almost 40 years,
0:35:41 > 0:35:44and if you've been to Cuba and you come to know Cuban people,
0:35:44 > 0:35:46you really have a very different view
0:35:46 > 0:35:49than if you've only lived in the United States.
0:35:51 > 0:35:55The National Council of Churches decided to see if, by our efforts,
0:35:55 > 0:35:59we could get this child returned to his family in Cuba.
0:36:01 > 0:36:05First of all, we needed to win over the American people.
0:36:05 > 0:36:09It's a very emotional thing to hear a family talk
0:36:09 > 0:36:11about the loss of a child.
0:36:11 > 0:36:13And I knew that the grandmothers had a passion
0:36:13 > 0:36:16about getting this little boy back home.
0:36:16 > 0:36:22So I had to go to Fidel Castro and I had to ask permission to take them.
0:36:31 > 0:36:35The grandmothers came, and we tried to arrange a visit
0:36:35 > 0:36:38for them with Elian who, of course, was in Miami.
0:36:38 > 0:36:45And then ensued a back and forth over the terms because, in fact,
0:36:45 > 0:36:50there was such tension and unresolved issues and disagreement
0:36:50 > 0:36:52within the family itself.
0:37:20 > 0:37:22It was not a negotiation.
0:37:22 > 0:37:26It was dictated to them that they must present the boy tomorrow
0:37:26 > 0:37:29or his status would be changed and the boy would potentially
0:37:29 > 0:37:31be sent back to Cuba immediately.
0:37:33 > 0:37:35I'm very concerned it was going to happen tomorrow
0:37:35 > 0:37:38because every night I go to sleep, he tells me,
0:37:38 > 0:37:41"Don't let them take me back,"
0:37:41 > 0:37:43and I am going to be the one taking him to this house,
0:37:43 > 0:37:45where I don't know what's going to happen,
0:37:45 > 0:37:47and I don't have control of.
0:37:54 > 0:37:58With local television stations covering the tug-of-war live,
0:37:58 > 0:38:00Elian met with his grandmothers at the home of a Miami nun
0:38:00 > 0:38:02who was an old friend of Janet Reno.
0:38:05 > 0:38:07I wasn't allowed to stay in the room with them.
0:38:07 > 0:38:11And this was the perfect time for him to tell her,
0:38:11 > 0:38:14"I want to leave with you," if that was what was in his heart.
0:38:14 > 0:38:18If that would have been me, I would have run to my grandma
0:38:18 > 0:38:21and told her, "Take me." But he didn't.
0:38:23 > 0:38:25Actually, he did the opposite.
0:38:26 > 0:38:29He ran out of the room and all he said to me was, "Run, run!
0:38:29 > 0:38:32"They are going to take us."
0:38:32 > 0:38:35Just made me feel, well, I need to fight for his freedom,
0:38:35 > 0:38:38just like his mum gave her life for it.
0:38:39 > 0:38:43I think for the grandmothers, the meeting was extremely frustrating.
0:38:43 > 0:38:45And they felt that he was in danger.
0:38:45 > 0:38:47They felt he was drugged.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50But they did go home, having seen Elian,
0:38:50 > 0:38:55and they did go home more determined that they had to get him home.
0:39:19 > 0:39:21I feel great.
0:39:21 > 0:39:25And I feel confident, yeah.
0:39:25 > 0:39:31Strong, and that I have more feelings that I had before.
0:39:31 > 0:39:36Now I feel that he's more towards this side than to that side.
0:40:13 > 0:40:16Where are you going in a big-ass hurry, man?
0:40:16 > 0:40:18At that time I was a freelancer for AP.
0:40:18 > 0:40:22One morning, I get a call from my editor and he says,
0:40:22 > 0:40:24"All right, this is what I want you to do."
0:40:25 > 0:40:27You cover Elian every day.
0:40:28 > 0:40:31Miami police shut down the street,
0:40:31 > 0:40:34the whole half-block was blocked off.
0:40:34 > 0:40:38There were TV stations that were paying 500 a day
0:40:38 > 0:40:40just to have a crew in front of the house.
0:40:41 > 0:40:43Back in 1999 to 2000,
0:40:43 > 0:40:46we weren't actually living in 24-hour news cycles.
0:40:47 > 0:40:49It was a very different landscape.
0:40:49 > 0:40:55All of a sudden, we've got media stakeouts and they are, you know,
0:40:55 > 0:40:59using this child almost as a prop to tell a story,
0:40:59 > 0:41:00you know, having him out,
0:41:00 > 0:41:02playing with an American flag at 11 o'clock at night.
0:41:02 > 0:41:05So we'd not seen anything like that.
0:41:08 > 0:41:11Rewarding this atrocious behaviour,
0:41:11 > 0:41:13this trotting out this kid the way they did,
0:41:13 > 0:41:16and then you're acting shocked and surprised that it's happening.
0:41:16 > 0:41:19They wanted a full media blitz, and we gave it to them.
0:41:19 > 0:41:21We had things like, you know,
0:41:21 > 0:41:25Diane Sawyer going to have playdates with Elian.
0:41:28 > 0:41:30We spent some time drawing.
0:41:30 > 0:41:32Some waves.
0:41:32 > 0:41:33A dolphin.
0:41:35 > 0:41:37Himself in an inner tube.
0:41:39 > 0:41:41"Me," he said, "I was sinking."
0:41:41 > 0:41:43I always tell him I'm his cousin.
0:41:43 > 0:41:47- He tries to call you Mom, sometimes? - Yeah, he says Mari stands for mom.
0:42:08 > 0:42:12And nobody cares about a little boy who lost his mother,
0:42:12 > 0:42:16who has lost everything, and is now about to lose the only thing
0:42:16 > 0:42:22that he has, which is me and it's hard to say when he tells me,
0:42:22 > 0:42:23"Please don't ever leave me."
0:42:25 > 0:42:27People just say return him to his father,
0:42:27 > 0:42:29but people don't live with this little boy.
0:42:29 > 0:42:31People don't see how this little boy feels.
0:42:37 > 0:42:41Just the family stuff is enough to throw someone over the edge.
0:42:41 > 0:42:44Now, when all of that is being witnessed on a daily basis
0:42:44 > 0:42:47by the entire world, not easy.
0:42:48 > 0:42:50I mean, I've been involved in politics all my life,
0:42:50 > 0:42:55I'm a practising lawyer, a public speaker, you know...
0:42:55 > 0:42:58I have the training, as best you can,
0:42:58 > 0:43:02to be able to do something like that. This family had zero, zero training.
0:43:02 > 0:43:06I have been in this for four months, not for political issues,
0:43:06 > 0:43:08not to look good in front of people,
0:43:08 > 0:43:10but for the best interests of this child.
0:43:10 > 0:43:14I remember the Today show, where I think we might have even left
0:43:14 > 0:43:18the show and gone to the hospital, because she really took a beating,
0:43:18 > 0:43:21an emotional beating from that process.
0:43:27 > 0:43:28It was a loving family.
0:43:28 > 0:43:31They got caught up in the collective hysteria,
0:43:31 > 0:43:34that this was the apocalyptic battle against Castro.
0:43:36 > 0:43:39I was under a lot of stress, I wasn't getting enough sleep,
0:43:39 > 0:43:41sometimes I would just pass out.
0:43:44 > 0:43:45A day in that house was crazy.
0:43:47 > 0:43:51I had people walk in and out my room and I was like,
0:43:51 > 0:43:52"Who are these people?"
0:43:53 > 0:43:58What people saw in the Elian story often depended on where they stood.
0:43:58 > 0:44:01As the weeks passed, national polls showed a deep divide,
0:44:01 > 0:44:03with more and more Americans outside South Florida
0:44:03 > 0:44:06in favour of returning the boy to his father.
0:44:14 > 0:44:18But in Miami, the exiles' fury continued to grow,
0:44:18 > 0:44:21spilling over into protests that blocked traffic on the highways
0:44:21 > 0:44:25and exasperated many of the city's non-Cubans.
0:44:25 > 0:44:28I am a parent. And I believe that a child should be with his father.
0:44:36 > 0:44:38I, by now, had seen the anger in Miami.
0:44:38 > 0:44:41I had seen the determination of some of the Miami Cubans
0:44:41 > 0:44:44to make sure that Elian did not leave.
0:44:44 > 0:44:48Senator Lahey came to me and he said,
0:44:48 > 0:44:52"We're going to get that little boy back to his father.
0:44:52 > 0:44:55"And I'm going to help you, but you're never going to make it happen
0:44:55 > 0:44:59"if you don't involve a lawyer in this. I have a lawyer for you.
0:44:59 > 0:45:04"His name is Greg Craig. I'm calling him now. He won't say no."
0:45:04 > 0:45:06I went to the Justice Department and said,
0:45:06 > 0:45:10"I'm going to go to Cuba, and I want to be able to tell Juan Miguel
0:45:10 > 0:45:12"that when he comes back to the United States,
0:45:12 > 0:45:16"he will be able to take custody of his son,
0:45:16 > 0:45:17"within the space of a few days.
0:45:17 > 0:45:20"That he is not going to have to sit in some room
0:45:20 > 0:45:23"and watch his son on television being paraded around
0:45:23 > 0:45:25"by these relatives."
0:45:25 > 0:45:27They were not willing to give me that commitment.
0:45:32 > 0:45:36I had nothing going down to Cuba, other than to say,
0:45:36 > 0:45:37"Now is the time to do it."
0:45:43 > 0:45:46To be clear, Castro was in the middle of this decision-making.
0:45:49 > 0:45:51Castro was waking up from a nap,
0:45:51 > 0:45:53you could just tell that he had been asleep
0:45:53 > 0:45:55and he was putting himself together.
0:45:57 > 0:45:59The meeting was forever, it lasted forever.
0:45:59 > 0:46:02And we drank more coffee and more water
0:46:02 > 0:46:06and people would be getting up and going off to relieve themselves.
0:46:06 > 0:46:09Castro didn't move for four hours.
0:46:09 > 0:46:12I think perhaps he had a device!
0:46:14 > 0:46:17He would shake his finger at me and said,
0:46:17 > 0:46:20"Why do you think an American court would ever rule
0:46:20 > 0:46:22"in favour of a Cuban national?
0:46:22 > 0:46:25"There has never been a case where a Cuban National has won."
0:46:25 > 0:46:28And my only argument was, I don't know of any time when the government
0:46:28 > 0:46:32of the United States has been on the same side of the case
0:46:32 > 0:46:34as a Cuban national, which in turn, you know,
0:46:34 > 0:46:37on the same side with the government of Cuba.
0:46:37 > 0:46:39That's never happened in history. So maybe the result will be different.
0:46:43 > 0:46:45We're talking with Dr Andrew Wilde,
0:46:45 > 0:46:47the author of Eating Well For Optimal Health.
0:46:47 > 0:46:50I think it is fine for lower cholesterol levels.
0:46:50 > 0:46:52Let me cut you a second. Let's go to Washington to Greg Craig
0:46:52 > 0:46:54at the offices of Williams & Connolly.
0:46:54 > 0:46:56My name is Gregory B Craig.
0:46:56 > 0:46:59I'm pleased to report that Juan Miguel Gonzales,
0:46:59 > 0:47:03his wife and six-month-old son, will be coming to the United States.
0:47:03 > 0:47:07They will arrive tomorrow morning, Thursday, April 6th,
0:47:07 > 0:47:08at 7am at Dulles Airport.
0:47:08 > 0:47:12APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
0:49:04 > 0:49:07It was the next day that we had the meeting with the Attorney General.
0:49:09 > 0:49:12I'm driving the car and I'm saying to myself,
0:49:12 > 0:49:17now is the time to tell Juan Miguel what his options are.
0:49:17 > 0:49:21There is no Cuban diplomats, Fidel Castro is not in the room.
0:49:21 > 0:49:22It's just the family.
0:49:23 > 0:49:25So I said to Juan Miguel,
0:49:25 > 0:49:28"If you want to get Elian back this afternoon
0:49:28 > 0:49:32"and stay in the United States with your family,
0:49:32 > 0:49:34"you have that opportunity because you are going to have
0:49:34 > 0:49:37"the Attorney General of the United States, you are going to have
0:49:37 > 0:49:40"the Commissioner of INS, and they will grant that request,
0:49:40 > 0:49:42"if you want to do that."
0:49:42 > 0:49:44He says, Thank you very much."
0:49:49 > 0:49:52At a certain point, the Attorney General asked
0:49:52 > 0:49:54that everybody else leave the room.
0:49:54 > 0:49:55It was a very powerful meeting.
0:49:57 > 0:49:58Very powerful.
0:50:00 > 0:50:06He cut off the conversation almost when it started, saying,
0:50:06 > 0:50:11"I stand by my word, I have a family in Cuba, I have a life in Cuba,
0:50:11 > 0:50:14"my son is going to grow up as a Cuban
0:50:14 > 0:50:18"and I am not going to be claiming asylum."
0:50:18 > 0:50:25He was a very proud... very clear person.
0:50:29 > 0:50:31I called my cousin and said, "Look, we need to meet with his father
0:50:31 > 0:50:35"and find out what he really wants to do.
0:50:35 > 0:50:38"This is our time to go and find out the truth."
0:50:38 > 0:50:41Donato was instantly, instantly drawn to a camera.
0:50:43 > 0:50:47I begged him, "No more shows, Donato. No more shows."
0:50:47 > 0:50:51And we got off the airplane at Dulles, and it was probably
0:50:51 > 0:50:55the biggest media centre I've ever seen in my entire life.
0:51:01 > 0:51:04Once we got into the car from the airport,
0:51:04 > 0:51:07it was within 60 seconds that I knew I was in the car
0:51:07 > 0:51:09with the Cuban National Foundation.
0:51:09 > 0:51:13They were already brainwashing Donato and trying to brainwash me.
0:51:15 > 0:51:17They wanted it to look like that once we got there,
0:51:17 > 0:51:19that Juan Miguel refused to meet us.
0:51:23 > 0:51:26Juan Miguel came in and, in a very sincere way, thanked them
0:51:26 > 0:51:30for having saved Elian's life.
0:51:30 > 0:51:35Juan Miguel was a very, very... heart-warming, loving father,
0:51:35 > 0:51:39with tears in his eyes when he would talk to me.
0:51:39 > 0:51:42My heart told me the right thing, and he wants his child back.
0:51:53 > 0:51:55We are talking about a six-year-old little boy here, people.
0:51:55 > 0:51:58It's a child. That's what we need to be concerned about, and nobody else.
0:51:58 > 0:52:00The rest of it is all BS, man.
0:52:00 > 0:52:03We need to put this baby to rest right now.
0:52:03 > 0:52:05Donato has to speak for himself.
0:52:05 > 0:52:08I said, "I'm Donato, the fisherman, the one they call El Pescador.
0:52:08 > 0:52:12"I was there when your son was about to drown."
0:52:12 > 0:52:15And, man, this guy's eyes started to well up with water.
0:52:15 > 0:52:18And I ran over there and I grabbed him and I hugged him.
0:52:32 > 0:52:36We didn't kick him out, but we had to urge him to leave.
0:52:37 > 0:52:40I don't stand in the way of this father.
0:52:40 > 0:52:42But I can tell you this,
0:52:42 > 0:52:45I don't feel that he is free outside of his lawyer here.
0:52:45 > 0:52:47Juan Miguel said that he is not going to go down to Miami,
0:52:47 > 0:52:49so what's going to happen?
0:52:51 > 0:52:53We needed a family meeting away from the media,
0:52:53 > 0:52:55governments pitted against each other,
0:52:55 > 0:52:57the Cuban American National Foundation
0:52:57 > 0:53:00versus the Castro brothers. We needed to get out of that.
0:53:00 > 0:53:02And we needed a neutral third party,
0:53:02 > 0:53:04which I thought was the Catholic Church.
0:53:06 > 0:53:08We got the blessing of the Pope
0:53:08 > 0:53:11about using the Vatican embassy in Washington.
0:53:12 > 0:53:14I had a private jet prepared,
0:53:14 > 0:53:17Elian was going to be taken to my home that evening,
0:53:17 > 0:53:19so that he could be on a plane at four in the morning.
0:53:20 > 0:53:22- VOICEOVER:- I got a call from Jorge Mas,
0:53:22 > 0:53:25saying to go to Elian's house and tell the family
0:53:25 > 0:53:27to bring Elian to Washington.
0:53:28 > 0:53:32I went into the house and I said, "If you ask me, I wouldn't do it."
0:53:32 > 0:53:36"Because if you are going to ask me for any guarantees as to what is
0:53:36 > 0:53:38"going happen, I can't give them to you."
0:53:39 > 0:53:42And I remember there was a huge thing of seafood,
0:53:42 > 0:53:47a paella or something, and Lazaro was so tense by this time
0:53:47 > 0:53:49that he grabs his phone and throws it in there.
0:53:49 > 0:53:53And I'm just sitting there and I'm watching this phone,
0:53:53 > 0:53:56you know, sinking into the rice.
0:54:24 > 0:54:26There is a new element to this story -
0:54:26 > 0:54:28the boy's Miami relatives released a video tape of Elian
0:54:28 > 0:54:30recorded last night.
0:54:30 > 0:54:32It shows him on a bed, we are going to show it to you.
0:54:32 > 0:54:33It's not clear who was in the room with him,
0:54:33 > 0:54:35whether he was coached or not.
0:55:14 > 0:55:19After the Miami relatives refused to bring the kid to Washington,
0:55:19 > 0:55:22it became clear that if we wanted Elian,
0:55:22 > 0:55:24we were going to have to go into the house and take him.
0:55:24 > 0:55:27SHOUTING AND CHANTING
0:55:31 > 0:55:34For the last couple of days, we weren't even 100% sure
0:55:34 > 0:55:36that Elian was even inside the home.
0:55:36 > 0:55:39He was not being brought out by family members,
0:55:39 > 0:55:42he didn't make appearances into the crowds.
0:55:42 > 0:55:46The less we saw of him, the more concern we had as to his welfare.
0:55:52 > 0:55:55If it comes to taking Elian by force,
0:55:55 > 0:55:57US law enforcement officials have a plan.
0:55:57 > 0:56:00Elements of the SWAT Special Operations group
0:56:00 > 0:56:03are available. The 1,100-member Miami Police Department
0:56:03 > 0:56:06and the Florida Highway Patrol has placed units on alert.
0:56:06 > 0:56:09The final go or no-go order will come only
0:56:09 > 0:56:12from Attorney General Janet Reno.
0:56:13 > 0:56:15For weeks, the government had been assembling a shock force
0:56:15 > 0:56:18of federal agents to seize Elian if necessary.
0:56:20 > 0:56:23But Janet Reno had misgivings that went beyond her loyalty
0:56:23 > 0:56:25to Cuban exiles in Miami.
0:56:26 > 0:56:30Seven years earlier, just after taking office as Attorney General,
0:56:30 > 0:56:33Reno had ordered federal agents to raid the compound
0:56:33 > 0:56:36of a religious cult near Waco, Texas.
0:56:36 > 0:56:39More than 70 people died, including 25 children.
0:56:41 > 0:56:44We must all reflect on how we, as a society,
0:56:44 > 0:56:48can, in the future, prevent such a senseless, horrible,
0:56:48 > 0:56:50tragic loss of human life.
0:56:50 > 0:56:54One thing that really, I think did haunt her was Waco.
0:56:54 > 0:56:57But Janet Reno was somebody who made her decisions
0:56:57 > 0:57:00based on the facts and the law.
0:57:00 > 0:57:04Instead of discussing HOW Elian should be reunited,
0:57:04 > 0:57:06the attorneys for the relatives continue to demand
0:57:06 > 0:57:11that we revisit the issue of WHETHER Elian should be reunited.
0:57:11 > 0:57:14That is not what the law provides.
0:57:19 > 0:57:22Demonstrators break through those barricades to try to form a human
0:57:22 > 0:57:24chain around this house,
0:57:24 > 0:57:28if indeed federal agents came to seize Elian Gonzales.
0:57:32 > 0:57:35There were people in the crowds that had violent police records,
0:57:35 > 0:57:37there were armed individuals in the crowd.
0:57:40 > 0:57:42The entire event was a potential powder keg.
0:57:43 > 0:57:47We wanted to effect a search warrant as soon as possible.
0:57:47 > 0:57:52The only delays were last-ditch efforts made by the US government
0:57:52 > 0:57:57to negotiate a peaceful, so to speak,
0:57:57 > 0:57:59surrender of the child to the US government.
0:58:00 > 0:58:04Miss Reno was willing to exhaust every option,
0:58:04 > 0:58:08so when members of the community came in and said, you know,
0:58:08 > 0:58:11"We think we can broker a deal," she was willing to talk to them.
0:58:13 > 0:58:15We were afraid that this was going to bring a lot of harm
0:58:15 > 0:58:18to the community, and the perception of the community.
0:58:18 > 0:58:20This was spinning out of control.
0:58:22 > 0:58:26My focus was to get the community to have
0:58:26 > 0:58:30a unanimous position that we're going to do this peacefully.
0:58:30 > 0:58:33In my view, we were very close to doing, in two days,
0:58:33 > 0:58:36that which had not been done in five months.
0:58:36 > 0:58:40We are going to create a scenario where the two families would go
0:58:40 > 0:58:43to a military base, have an opportunity to talk to each other
0:58:43 > 0:58:46and look for an elegant solution and a settlement.
0:58:46 > 0:58:50We developed the points and we faxed them to Janet Reno.
0:58:53 > 0:58:57We get the fax off and we had been instructed by Aaron Podhurst,
0:58:57 > 0:58:58everything is good.
0:58:58 > 0:59:02You guys are fine. The agreement is still not finalised,
0:59:02 > 0:59:03but our expectations were that
0:59:03 > 0:59:05we'll be out of here in a couple of hours.
0:59:08 > 0:59:13The offer was the same as had been made repeatedly by the family
0:59:13 > 0:59:16and that ultimately not only hadn't succeeded,
0:59:16 > 0:59:23but was not willing to, in any way, concede turning over the child
0:59:23 > 0:59:24to the father.
0:59:24 > 0:59:29It was just another effort, I think most of us thought, to delay.
0:59:32 > 0:59:36We had identified 5am to be an optimal time
0:59:36 > 0:59:38to execute the search warrant.
0:59:38 > 0:59:45We were ready well prior to that and still awaiting a final green light
0:59:45 > 0:59:46from the Department of Justice.
0:59:46 > 0:59:49We were all in the Attorney General's office.
0:59:49 > 0:59:52She stayed on an open line with Mr Podhurst.
0:59:52 > 0:59:58I stayed on an open line with the INS people in Miami.
0:59:58 > 1:00:04Because I needed to give them the order that it was a go.
1:00:05 > 1:00:09I had two lines, one to the house and one to the Attorney General,
1:00:09 > 1:00:13Janet Reno. It never occurred to me that there was a raid planned,
1:00:13 > 1:00:15and I kept saying to the Attorney General,
1:00:15 > 1:00:17"What's the big rush about?"
1:00:17 > 1:00:20She gave them deadlines, she told them, "After this point,
1:00:20 > 1:00:23"it's going to be too late and then you are out of time.
1:00:23 > 1:00:24"You are running out of time."
1:00:28 > 1:00:32That was the only night that Elian didn't sleep.
1:00:33 > 1:00:35He was scared that they would take him.
1:00:36 > 1:00:38It's well past midnight.
1:00:39 > 1:00:42I tell them, "Look, I'm beginning to feel very uncomfortable,
1:00:42 > 1:00:44"like there's a problem here.
1:00:44 > 1:00:46"Because there is no reason... this is a one-page document."
1:00:48 > 1:00:53There was questions in the room, "Are we on hold? Is it a go?"
1:00:53 > 1:00:55And Miss Reno said, "It's a go."
1:01:01 > 1:01:05Then, about four o'clock, we get a call from Aaron,
1:01:05 > 1:01:07and his voice is almost shaking.
1:01:09 > 1:01:12And he says to me, "You have got five minutes to wake everybody up."
1:01:15 > 1:01:16I woke everybody up.
1:01:21 > 1:01:25And while we're having that conversation,
1:01:25 > 1:01:29there's a bunch of yelling and screaming outside.
1:01:30 > 1:01:33And I said to Aaron, "Aaron, the feds are here."
1:01:34 > 1:01:35Wake up!
1:01:36 > 1:01:38HORN BLASTS
1:01:40 > 1:01:42Let me go live. Are we shooting it?
1:01:45 > 1:01:47Stay back behind the barricades!
1:01:47 > 1:01:49Back behind the barricades!
1:01:49 > 1:01:52Hordes of people were going to do everything in their power
1:01:52 > 1:01:54to prevent us from reaching the front door.
1:01:54 > 1:01:57They chanted, they screamed, lights went on.
1:01:57 > 1:01:59They formed human chains.
1:01:59 > 1:02:04We virtually had to push our way to the front door.
1:02:06 > 1:02:08Behind us, there was a riot going on.
1:02:18 > 1:02:20It was clearly organised resistance.
1:02:24 > 1:02:26I pounded at the door.
1:02:26 > 1:02:29"Federal agents, we're executing a search warrant.
1:02:29 > 1:02:31"Open the door, open the door."
1:02:33 > 1:02:36I had to give the order to breach the door.
1:02:39 > 1:02:41When I look, I see all these people with guns.
1:02:41 > 1:02:43They were dressed in green,
1:02:43 > 1:02:45so I thought they were like Cuban commandos.
1:02:45 > 1:02:49So I started screaming, "Cuba is coming!" And Lazaro said, Cuba!
1:02:49 > 1:02:51So everyone in the house thought it was Cuba.
1:02:51 > 1:02:55I clearly remember the lady that came in to get him,
1:02:55 > 1:03:00saying, "Where is the F kid? Where is the F goddamn kid?"
1:03:00 > 1:03:04I did step forward, a little bit aggressive, you know, like mad?
1:03:04 > 1:03:08And she says, "If you take one more step, I'm going to shoot."
1:03:08 > 1:03:10I'm running to the front and then, you know,
1:03:10 > 1:03:13Elian jumps on me and then I give him to Donato.
1:03:13 > 1:03:17If there was anybody, it shouldn't have been me that night,
1:03:17 > 1:03:18that got Elian into my arms.
1:03:18 > 1:03:21But everyone seemed to be running for shelter
1:03:21 > 1:03:23because they are hearing the same thing I'm hearing,
1:03:23 > 1:03:24"Get down or we'll shoot."
1:03:24 > 1:03:27We are thinking, "Oh, wow, they're going to kill us."
1:03:28 > 1:03:32I see out of the closet, Donato and Elian.
1:03:34 > 1:03:37The boy says to me, "Que esta pasando? Que esta pasando?"
1:03:39 > 1:03:43I said, "Nothing is happening, baby, but everything
1:03:43 > 1:03:45"is going to be all right."
1:03:46 > 1:03:50Boom! The door busted open and there is a federal armed agent
1:03:50 > 1:03:54with an assault weapon, and he's got that thing pointed directly at me
1:03:54 > 1:03:56and Elian. All I hear is...
1:03:56 > 1:03:59HE IMITATES A CAMERA FLASH
1:03:59 > 1:04:02I'm flashing, I'm strobing this guy in the face.
1:04:04 > 1:04:06It was, you know, freedom of press.
1:04:06 > 1:04:08You can't touch that.
1:04:11 > 1:04:16And he's screaming, "Give me the kid. Give me the effing kid."
1:04:17 > 1:04:20Within seconds, a woman appeared in the room
1:04:20 > 1:04:24and that's when I handed Elian over to the agent.
1:04:26 > 1:04:27Get ready to get the boy.
1:04:29 > 1:04:31They've got the boy, they've got the boy.
1:04:38 > 1:04:42All I could hear was Elian screaming, "Prima, Prima, Prima!"
1:04:44 > 1:04:45You know, just calling out.
1:04:47 > 1:04:49And I couldn't do anything.
1:04:51 > 1:04:54SHOUTING AND SCREAMING
1:05:40 > 1:05:44Elian was just a kid, and that day, they risked his life.
1:05:44 > 1:05:48I sometimes wonder what Juan Miguel felt about that.
1:05:49 > 1:05:54I would have never wanted my child to be taken out like that.
1:05:55 > 1:05:59Elian Gonzales is, as we speak, being flown
1:05:59 > 1:06:02to Andrews Air Force Base, just outside of Washington,
1:06:02 > 1:06:05where he will be reunited with his father.
1:07:08 > 1:07:10Pictures taken by an Associated Press photographer
1:07:10 > 1:07:13which the administration will have to answer to.
1:07:13 > 1:07:18There is a picture...of that little boy's fear, he's scared,
1:07:18 > 1:07:20so Janet Reno and everybody else,
1:07:20 > 1:07:22don't say you came here with no violence,
1:07:22 > 1:07:26and that this boy is OK. How can this boy not be...
1:07:26 > 1:07:29How can this boy be OK when he had a gun at his head?
1:07:29 > 1:07:32Marisleysis Gonzales expressing her feelings on what happened,
1:07:32 > 1:07:34and describing what happened here this morning.
1:07:34 > 1:07:38- They treated us like criminals. - I know.
1:07:50 > 1:07:52They broke...
1:07:53 > 1:07:55They broke Elian's bed.
1:07:59 > 1:08:02He was saying, "Que pasa? Que pasa? What's going on?"
1:08:02 > 1:08:05I just held his head like this.
1:08:05 > 1:08:08My God, America, what did you do to this boy?
1:08:08 > 1:08:12All right, Marisleysis Gonzales, Donato Dalrymple,
1:08:12 > 1:08:14thank you very much.
1:08:32 > 1:08:35Up until the last, we tried every way we could
1:08:35 > 1:08:39to encourage Lazaro Gonzalez to voluntarily hand over the child
1:08:39 > 1:08:41to his father.
1:08:42 > 1:08:47Unfortunately the Miami relatives rejected our efforts,
1:08:47 > 1:08:50leaving us no other option but the enforcement action.
1:08:50 > 1:08:53SIREN BLARES
1:09:01 > 1:09:03An election in turmoil.
1:09:03 > 1:09:05A presidency in the balance.
1:09:05 > 1:09:07A nation waits.
1:09:07 > 1:09:10Who will emerge the winner in the historic Florida recount?
1:09:10 > 1:09:13There were 10,000 Cuban-American Democrats
1:09:13 > 1:09:17who became Republicans post-Elian.
1:09:17 > 1:09:19Had the Elian event been handled better,
1:09:19 > 1:09:22hell, we might not have had the Iraq war.
1:09:24 > 1:09:26I, George Walker Bush, do solemnly swear...
1:09:26 > 1:09:30President Bush became the President of the United States in 2000
1:09:30 > 1:09:34because of Elian Gonzales. There is no doubt in my mind.
1:09:34 > 1:09:36And I think that the numbers prove that out.
1:10:13 > 1:10:17Marisleysis and her family would not see Elian again.
1:10:17 > 1:10:21In late June, almost seven months after his rescue at sea,
1:10:21 > 1:10:23the Supreme Court finally lifted the order
1:10:23 > 1:10:26keeping him in the United States.
1:10:26 > 1:10:28He and his father were back in Cuba before nightfall.
1:10:36 > 1:10:39CROWD CHANTS: Elian! Elian! Elian! Elian!
1:13:06 > 1:13:10Castro was, in fact, dedicated to getting that little boy home,
1:13:10 > 1:13:13and it became a matter of his heart.
1:13:13 > 1:13:15It was not now just a government victory.
1:13:17 > 1:13:20And Elian became virtually like a child of his.
1:13:23 > 1:13:25CHILDREN SING
1:13:34 > 1:13:38As Elian grew up, Fidel continued to celebrate the boy's return as a
1:13:38 > 1:13:41triumphant chapter in the larger story of Cuba's revolution.
1:14:52 > 1:14:55In the aftermath of the Elian affair,
1:14:55 > 1:14:57new Cuban-American leaders challenged the intransigence
1:14:57 > 1:14:58of the old guard.
1:15:00 > 1:15:02Even the Cuban American National Foundation retreated
1:15:02 > 1:15:05from its hardline past, appealing to an exile community
1:15:05 > 1:15:09that was less defined by the old hatreds and paving the way
1:15:09 > 1:15:11for historic changes in American policy.
1:15:11 > 1:15:15We definitely began focusing on a younger and different generation.
1:15:15 > 1:15:18Both here and in Cuba.
1:15:21 > 1:15:24We have to talk to their hopes and aspirations.
1:15:24 > 1:15:26They are going to be the key to the future.
1:15:34 > 1:15:37The first American President in 88 years touched down
1:15:37 > 1:15:40just a few moments ago, here in Cuba.
1:16:13 > 1:16:16- BARACK OBAMA:- I have come here to bury the last remnant
1:16:16 > 1:16:18of the Cold War in the Americas.
1:16:19 > 1:16:22Havana is only 90 miles from Florida.
1:16:23 > 1:16:26But to get here, we had to travel a great distance.
1:16:27 > 1:16:30Over barriers of history, and ideology...
1:16:32 > 1:16:34..barriers of pain and separation.
1:16:34 > 1:16:38In many ways, the United States and Cuba are like two brothers
1:16:38 > 1:16:41who have been estranged for many years.
1:16:49 > 1:16:52I want the Cuban people, especially the young people,
1:16:52 > 1:16:56to understand why I believe that you should look to the future with hope.
1:16:56 > 1:17:00Hope that is rooted in the future that YOU can choose,
1:17:00 > 1:17:03and that YOU can shape and that you can build for your country.
1:18:15 > 1:18:17MILITARY DRUM PLAYS
1:18:25 > 1:18:27Did I want him to stay in America?
1:18:27 > 1:18:28Selfishly, yes.
1:18:28 > 1:18:31He was going to have scholarships, he was going to go to college,
1:18:31 > 1:18:34he was going to have the American Dream.
1:18:34 > 1:18:35But, you know, in the end,
1:18:35 > 1:18:38I realised that that American Dream wasn't for him.
1:18:40 > 1:18:44As he lives out his life, what role he will play in Cuba,
1:18:44 > 1:18:47what role he will play in the Cuban revolution
1:18:47 > 1:18:50that is to come, inevitably,
1:18:50 > 1:18:52he will be part of a new generation.
1:18:52 > 1:18:57And how he will weather that, how he will respond to that
1:18:57 > 1:19:02is probably partly related to what will happen to Cuba,
1:19:02 > 1:19:04and some of that depends on us.
1:20:38 > 1:20:40I shouldn't be happy because a person has died.
1:20:40 > 1:20:47But he separated my family, my parents never got to see Cuba again.
1:20:47 > 1:20:50So today, I rejoice for this.
1:20:55 > 1:20:58As Cuban-Americans celebrated Fidel's death,
1:20:58 > 1:21:00Miami talk shows replayed Elian's comments
1:21:00 > 1:21:03and revisited a long-running question.
1:21:03 > 1:21:05What sort of man had the miracle boy become?
1:21:08 > 1:21:10People have told me, "Oh, did you hear what Elian said?"
1:21:10 > 1:21:12He is brainwashed.
1:21:15 > 1:21:18I say he's not at fault for what he has become,
1:21:18 > 1:21:22where he's at right now, he doesn't know any better.
1:21:24 > 1:21:26So I don't judge him.
1:21:28 > 1:21:30I just sit and wait.
1:21:54 > 1:21:56I would love to see him here.
1:21:57 > 1:21:58Even if it's just a visit.
1:22:00 > 1:22:02But I don't see myself going back to Cuba.
1:22:04 > 1:22:06I feel that I would be betraying his mother.
1:22:13 > 1:22:16I'm not in his future, I'm in his past, so...
1:22:16 > 1:22:19Years can go by and it's the same thing over and over.
1:22:50 > 1:22:53Whoever is right or wrong, we are family.
1:22:54 > 1:22:56And we love each other.
1:22:58 > 1:23:01I dream till the day comes that I can speak to him.
1:23:03 > 1:23:04I love him.
1:23:06 > 1:23:10No matter who, or what he chooses to be.