WEBVTT - La Sombra 0:00:14.880 --> 0:00:18.480 In mid January two thousand, Alien's father, Emiel, gave an 0:00:18.480 --> 0:00:22.600 interview to ABC's Nightline. It had been nearly two months 0:00:22.640 --> 0:00:24.640 since he had been separated from Elian. 0:00:25.440 --> 0:00:28.440 It has been suggested in some quarters, and I'm going 0:00:28.480 --> 0:00:31.280 to give you the opportunity to respond that the reason 0:00:31.320 --> 0:00:34.320 you do not come to Miami is because the Cuban 0:00:34.360 --> 0:00:36.760 government is afraid that once you get to Miami you 0:00:36.800 --> 0:00:38.879 will defect. How do you respond to that? 0:00:39.600 --> 0:00:43.519 Chris Wallace interviewed him with a life translator. Ask Emiel 0:00:43.680 --> 0:00:45.400 answered his questions. 0:00:45.360 --> 0:00:46.040 Who said that? 0:00:46.479 --> 0:00:51.680 Who said that? I think I have been extremely clear 0:00:52.040 --> 0:00:55.840 clear people think, or some people think that I am 0:00:55.880 --> 0:01:01.080 under pressure and sometimes what I would like to do 0:01:01.200 --> 0:01:03.240 is go down there with a rifle. I don't know 0:01:03.320 --> 0:01:05.160 to get rid of How many people. 0:01:05.440 --> 0:01:06.960 Are you serious about that, sir? 0:01:07.560 --> 0:01:10.360 That's obviously a very inflammatory remark. 0:01:11.680 --> 0:01:14.960 And what about isn't it inflammatory what they are doing 0:01:15.040 --> 0:01:15.800 with my son? 0:01:18.800 --> 0:01:23.360 This moment was raw and revealed Juamiel's rage at being 0:01:23.480 --> 0:01:27.720 kept from his son, But in the interview Chris Wallace 0:01:27.840 --> 0:01:31.759 was hinting at something else that Framielle was being pressured 0:01:31.840 --> 0:01:35.440 by the Cuban government to bring Ellang back to Cuba 0:01:35.840 --> 0:01:39.840 to not affect to Miami that Framielle did not really 0:01:40.040 --> 0:01:44.720 mean the things he was saying. This is Kennoc Coffee, 0:01:45.040 --> 0:01:48.080 one of the attorneys for Alian's Miami relatives. 0:01:48.720 --> 0:01:52.120 If you are living in Cuba, you're living in a 0:01:52.200 --> 0:01:57.640 totalitarian regime where your movements are watched, your actions are controlled, 0:01:58.360 --> 0:02:02.280 and you simply are not at liberty to advocate for 0:02:02.320 --> 0:02:04.960 your child's life and a democratic society. 0:02:06.200 --> 0:02:10.360 But Miuel had been a Philista rogastro for a long time. 0:02:10.919 --> 0:02:13.600 He was part of the Cuban Communist Party, and he 0:02:13.720 --> 0:02:16.920 used this connection after Elian was taken in by his 0:02:17.000 --> 0:02:21.320 Miami relatives to knock on all the right doors until 0:02:21.440 --> 0:02:24.760 he got a meeting with Fidel Castro himself to ask 0:02:24.919 --> 0:02:30.200 for the government's help to get Elan back. He would 0:02:30.280 --> 0:02:33.720 later say in an interview with Cuban Press that Castro 0:02:33.880 --> 0:02:37.160 told him in their first meeting he could leave Cuba 0:02:37.240 --> 0:02:38.320 if he wanted. 0:02:44.840 --> 0:02:47.120 So la. 0:02:49.919 --> 0:02:56.640 Miami, and he told Castro no, he wanted to be 0:02:56.760 --> 0:03:08.960 reunited with Elean in Cuba. Before that, the Miami family 0:03:09.040 --> 0:03:12.280 had been hopeful. They thought this could be a chance 0:03:12.360 --> 0:03:16.400 for their family to reunite in the United States. In 0:03:16.480 --> 0:03:20.440 front of news cameras. The Miami family said Jamiel had 0:03:20.520 --> 0:03:24.120 told them something different than what he told Del Castro. 0:03:24.760 --> 0:03:27.679 My uncle called Jamiel to let him know his son 0:03:27.840 --> 0:03:30.480 was okay and that we were taking care of him, 0:03:30.600 --> 0:03:34.680 and his answer was, quote, take care of him until 0:03:34.720 --> 0:03:37.640 I can go, meaning going to the United States. 0:03:38.480 --> 0:03:44.000 After the Nightline interview aired, Jamiel's uncle, Lascero responded, saying 0:03:44.080 --> 0:03:47.600 something the family had said from the beginning. We will 0:03:47.640 --> 0:03:50.520 give your song to you once you come to the 0:03:50.640 --> 0:04:00.800 United States, you know, deary, And he continued, I'm only 0:04:00.840 --> 0:04:03.640 taking care of the boy and giving him the best 0:04:03.680 --> 0:04:06.920 I can because my family in Cuba asked me to 0:04:07.040 --> 0:04:07.680 care for him. 0:04:07.920 --> 0:04:18.520 Also, Ramo Mdia, Yeah, my familia, miss Angry. 0:04:19.880 --> 0:04:23.320 Here's my family, my blood, Lacearo said in a matter 0:04:23.400 --> 0:04:31.680 of fact tone. But as time passed, when Miel started 0:04:31.800 --> 0:04:35.800 using a different term than caring for Alian, one that 0:04:36.000 --> 0:04:43.360 echo Fidel Castro saying the Miami relatives had actually kidnapped Elian, 0:04:45.320 --> 0:04:51.160 my familiar. Pamiel said, the Miami family stopped letting him 0:04:51.200 --> 0:05:00.960 speak with Elian, so they disputed that Alien's Iami relatives 0:05:00.960 --> 0:05:05.159 and other Cuban Americans believed Castro cast a shadow over 0:05:05.240 --> 0:05:08.920 Juamiel casting a shadow on a sombra? 0:05:09.680 --> 0:05:10.040 Did that? 0:05:15.880 --> 0:05:27.119 Sora and Penny later meres and this is Chess Peace. 0:05:27.400 --> 0:05:31.240 The Lian Gonzalez Story a production of Futura Studios in 0:05:31.320 --> 0:05:50.799 partnership with Iheartsmichael Turda podcast network. After Ellen was found 0:05:50.800 --> 0:05:55.400 at sea, many were watching je Miel, analyzing him, seeing 0:05:55.480 --> 0:05:59.240 if it sounded like a real father, wondering did he 0:05:59.360 --> 0:06:01.560 really want to stay in Cuba or not? 0:06:03.839 --> 0:06:05.960 If he really wanted to come to the United States. 0:06:06.120 --> 0:06:08.200 I think the Cuban government would have done everything they 0:06:08.200 --> 0:06:09.799 could discourage him from going. 0:06:10.600 --> 0:06:15.080 There were questions about whether the father of Elian was 0:06:15.400 --> 0:06:19.640 truly free, but how can we second guess his own 0:06:19.960 --> 0:06:21.400 views and love for soon? 0:06:21.680 --> 0:06:26.800 The wan Miguel I interviewed was extremely stressed. You could 0:06:26.880 --> 0:06:31.320 see the pressure, the anxiety, the fear. I don't really 0:06:31.400 --> 0:06:36.560 think his life was his own. After Ellen became the 0:06:36.600 --> 0:06:38.560 biggest headline. 0:06:39.960 --> 0:06:43.120 When it comes to Cuba, the question is always about freedom. 0:06:43.480 --> 0:06:46.640 If you have free will, I wanted to find out 0:06:46.680 --> 0:06:51.159 for myself. I wanted to ask Emiel and Elean what 0:06:51.279 --> 0:06:55.839 they truly wanted, But to do so I would have 0:06:56.000 --> 0:06:59.000 to return to Cuba for the first time in a decade, 0:07:00.040 --> 0:07:02.040 the first time ever as a journalist. 0:07:02.839 --> 0:07:04.799 I was nervous and excited. 0:07:07.520 --> 0:07:11.160 We submitted our project to the Cuban government Press office, 0:07:11.400 --> 0:07:14.520 and I applied for a journalist visa to enter the 0:07:14.680 --> 0:07:19.080 country where I was born. In Cuba, the government controls 0:07:19.120 --> 0:07:24.520 the media, and organizations like Reporters Without Borders have documented 0:07:24.760 --> 0:07:30.880 arbitrary detentions, harassment, illegal rates against Cuban journalists living on 0:07:30.920 --> 0:07:35.600 the island whose coverers doesn't align with the Cuban Communist Party. 0:07:36.880 --> 0:07:41.440 FOREI in journalists are accredited selectively, those whose work is 0:07:41.480 --> 0:07:46.960 considered too negative or critical are expelled. So, according to 0:07:47.040 --> 0:07:52.160 Reporters Without Borders quote, Cuba remains the worst country for 0:07:52.320 --> 0:07:59.400 press freedom in Latin America. After submitting the project, Cuba's 0:07:59.400 --> 0:08:02.280 office in New York asked us for a meeting to 0:08:02.360 --> 0:08:05.760 get a better idea about our work and the project. 0:08:07.400 --> 0:08:09.920 I'm working from Grand Central Station. 0:08:12.160 --> 0:08:16.480 Cheer let me see on that, senior producer Nicole Rothwell. 0:08:17.400 --> 0:08:20.760 This past summer, we met up in midtown Manhattan on 0:08:20.800 --> 0:08:22.320 a hot and humid day. 0:08:22.560 --> 0:08:26.360 So basically we are going to be here because even 0:08:26.400 --> 0:08:28.560 before asking Eliam for an interview, we need to ask 0:08:28.520 --> 0:08:31.040 a government for her mission, which is very Talian about 0:08:31.120 --> 0:08:32.880 Cuba and how Cuba works. 0:08:34.679 --> 0:08:37.640 When you walk into the office, you are met with 0:08:37.880 --> 0:08:40.120 giant black and white portraits of. 0:08:40.160 --> 0:08:41.719 Idel Castro on the walls. 0:08:42.160 --> 0:08:45.760 We were invited into a meeting room with comfy couches 0:08:45.800 --> 0:08:50.160 and shares. The Cuban government official we spoke with offered 0:08:50.240 --> 0:08:52.760 us a cafecito and. 0:08:52.840 --> 0:08:55.800 We gave our pitch, shared who we were. 0:08:56.120 --> 0:08:59.200 And that we believed to tell the liand story, we 0:08:59.280 --> 0:09:02.600 needed to speak with Cuban's in Cuba, and they seem 0:09:02.679 --> 0:09:06.680 to agree. So we waited and we started trying to. 0:09:06.559 --> 0:09:07.880 Reach sources in Cuba. 0:09:08.800 --> 0:09:12.000 That's when we got some exciting news from a fixer 0:09:12.040 --> 0:09:16.320 in Cuba that Elian and his father Juamiel were open 0:09:16.440 --> 0:09:19.720 to an interview with us. All we needed now was 0:09:19.760 --> 0:09:36.000 our visa approval, so we kept waiting. Back to two thousand, 0:09:36.400 --> 0:09:40.679 a week after Juan Miel's Nightline interview, an announcement was 0:09:40.720 --> 0:09:42.680 made that captivated the world. 0:09:43.280 --> 0:09:46.520 Today, the two grandmothers of Ilian Gonzalez flew from Havana 0:09:46.640 --> 0:09:49.520 to New York with a delegation from the National Council 0:09:49.559 --> 0:09:52.679 of Churches to say, without a moment's hesitation that they 0:09:52.720 --> 0:09:54.000 want to take Ilian home. 0:10:07.559 --> 0:10:10.600 Just after landing in New York, the grandmothers gave a 0:10:10.640 --> 0:10:15.080 press conference. Traquel Rodriguez, the mother of Elizabeth, Alien's mom, 0:10:15.520 --> 0:10:17.439 spoke first through a translator. 0:10:21.720 --> 0:10:22.880 Is the. 0:10:24.640 --> 0:10:25.720 La mam liang. 0:10:26.200 --> 0:10:28.800 Many people say that was the will of the mother. 0:10:29.679 --> 0:10:38.800 Denoido avlo, that the son will stay here. Lang I 0:10:38.840 --> 0:10:46.160 talked for her because her very much. Okay sarva, I 0:10:46.240 --> 0:10:52.720 know how she thinks and how they behave Yeah, zebasoue 0:10:53.880 --> 0:10:59.319 okay then unga posso ramulento ilam and Asara. 0:11:00.640 --> 0:11:03.679 The grandma alleged that her daughter only came to the 0:11:03.840 --> 0:11:08.160 US because her partner, Rafa, was violent and coerced her 0:11:08.320 --> 0:11:11.319 to get on the boat. Alien's grandma pleaded to be 0:11:11.480 --> 0:11:14.079 able to take him back with them to Cuba so 0:11:14.320 --> 0:11:16.040 her daughter could rest in peace. 0:11:16.800 --> 0:11:21.840 Eole pidouelo alo. 0:11:22.880 --> 0:11:23.480 Interested and. 0:11:26.160 --> 0:11:30.440 You want to help us all about for kil Nino. 0:11:32.000 --> 0:11:36.640 Aluela paga wela Let's concerin boss. 0:11:43.679 --> 0:11:47.720 Elizabeth's mom told reporters this more than once, and even 0:11:47.800 --> 0:11:52.000 before her daughter's tragic death, she had express worry about 0:11:52.080 --> 0:11:56.800 the relationship. However, some of Elizabeth's friends and one of 0:11:56.960 --> 0:12:01.760 Raffa's former girlfriends denied that he was violent. What we 0:12:01.960 --> 0:12:05.440 do know is there seems to be some cheam around 0:12:05.640 --> 0:12:09.439 Rafa's reputation, but there is the possibility that it was 0:12:09.520 --> 0:12:13.800 pushed as propaganda by the Cuban government. If this were true, 0:12:14.000 --> 0:12:17.080 that Elian's mom came to the US cours by her 0:12:17.200 --> 0:12:21.360 boyfriend and not seeking freedom, it would mean the Miami 0:12:21.520 --> 0:12:26.120 family's entire basis for keeping Elian in the US wasn't valid. 0:12:26.920 --> 0:12:29.080 His mom to risk her life for him. 0:12:29.000 --> 0:12:32.120 To get liberty, and I hope that this country gives 0:12:32.200 --> 0:12:35.040 us the opportunity of knowing what liberty is all about. 0:12:37.440 --> 0:12:41.120 In the US, the grandma's met with Congress members and 0:12:41.320 --> 0:12:44.760 ultimately got a chance to meet with their grandson Elian, 0:12:45.400 --> 0:12:48.720 but just over a week after they landed, they boarded 0:12:48.760 --> 0:12:53.720 a plane back to Cuba without him. Before leaving the US, 0:12:54.000 --> 0:12:58.920 Elian's paternal grandmother, Mariella, made a final plea to the public, saying, 0:12:59.240 --> 0:13:01.840 Elian will never be happy here and. 0:13:03.720 --> 0:13:05.440 He will never be happy. 0:13:06.840 --> 0:13:09.480 Because he grew up in Cua and Cuba. 0:13:10.720 --> 0:13:11.720 He's a Cuban boy. 0:13:13.280 --> 0:13:18.640 He has a father Squadro, he has four grandpa familia, 0:13:18.880 --> 0:13:21.079 and he has an entire family back there. 0:13:22.120 --> 0:13:25.480 The Grandma's returned to Cuba to a hero's welcome of 0:13:25.600 --> 0:13:29.319 thousands of Cubans in the street. They might have been 0:13:29.360 --> 0:13:32.520 empty handed, but it looked like a victory for the 0:13:32.640 --> 0:13:37.839 Cuban side. Appoll after their visit had two thirds of 0:13:37.920 --> 0:13:41.720 the US siding with them Elian should go back to his. 0:13:41.840 --> 0:13:43.280 Father in Cuba. 0:14:17.760 --> 0:14:21.200 A month after the Grandma's left the United States, the 0:14:21.320 --> 0:14:25.880 Senate held an unusual congressional hearing on Cuba inspired by 0:14:25.960 --> 0:14:29.600 the Elian case. As the Miami family seemed to be 0:14:29.800 --> 0:14:33.240 losing in the courts, they hoped they could win over 0:14:33.360 --> 0:14:38.920 the public and Congress. Mary Lacey's testified alongside Alina Fernandez, 0:14:39.200 --> 0:14:43.880 Fidel Castro's own a strange daughter. There is no recording 0:14:43.960 --> 0:14:47.920 of this hearing, but in her wading statement, Mary Lacey 0:14:48.080 --> 0:14:51.560 insisted that ju Miguel was hiding his true feelings. 0:14:52.320 --> 0:14:54.280 Here is part of what she said to Congress. 0:14:56.640 --> 0:14:58.960 He knows that his son is in a country of 0:14:59.040 --> 0:15:02.480 freedom or he is protected, and that is why he 0:15:02.600 --> 0:15:05.680 can sit there and read papers with the pain of 0:15:05.880 --> 0:15:10.120 heart say things that they're telling him to say, but 0:15:10.280 --> 0:15:14.080 he cannot turn around and say otherwise because he knows 0:15:14.240 --> 0:15:17.480 that his wife and his son might be in danger 0:15:18.000 --> 0:15:19.040 or are in danger. 0:15:21.360 --> 0:15:24.000 Mary Lesis is talking here about what in Cuba we 0:15:24.120 --> 0:15:29.640 call Las somra, the shadow. It's the idea that the 0:15:29.800 --> 0:15:34.880 authorities are monitoring your every move, the secret police, the government, 0:15:35.200 --> 0:15:39.440 the spies, that you are always being watched, unmarked, and 0:15:39.640 --> 0:15:43.800 if you defy those authorities, you know there will be consequences. 0:15:45.760 --> 0:15:48.680 The shadow makes sure you always watch. 0:15:48.600 --> 0:15:49.200 What you say. 0:15:50.120 --> 0:15:53.440 It was not the only time Mary Lacey's assured Miel 0:15:53.760 --> 0:15:57.080 that in Miami, in the US, he will be safe. 0:15:58.160 --> 0:15:59.800 I would like to follows to come and take him 0:15:59.840 --> 0:16:02.360 up because I know he's safe and I know that 0:16:02.480 --> 0:16:03.560 I put him in good hands. 0:16:05.120 --> 0:16:08.800 Mary LASiS also told the Senate committee that Jua Miel 0:16:09.000 --> 0:16:12.440 had previously told them he would do anything to make 0:16:12.520 --> 0:16:21.440 it to the US. It was something that others had 0:16:21.560 --> 0:16:25.000 heard too, like Al Fere Cuban American historian. 0:16:25.400 --> 0:16:27.480 I remember hearing, and I don't know if it's true, 0:16:27.520 --> 0:16:30.400 if it's another chease me is that the father had 0:16:30.480 --> 0:16:33.440 either applied to live or tried to leave himself before 0:16:33.600 --> 0:16:34.520 the wholely young thing. 0:16:35.280 --> 0:16:37.840 The rumor was that Juan Miel wanted to come to 0:16:37.920 --> 0:16:41.520 the US, and that he even applied to El Bombo, 0:16:42.000 --> 0:16:46.600 the Bize lottery system, unique for Cubans at the time. 0:16:46.880 --> 0:16:49.920 It was reported that the Ions had no record of 0:16:50.000 --> 0:16:55.360 Juamiel applying, but an internal memo eventually surfaced revealing that 0:16:55.640 --> 0:16:59.600 some Irons officials did believe he applied to Al Bombo, 0:17:00.480 --> 0:17:03.720 and not only that, but that they suspected Juan Miuel 0:17:03.920 --> 0:17:08.639 was being coerced by the Culture Region. But publicly, Jamiel 0:17:08.800 --> 0:17:12.119 never went straight from his message that he would trace 0:17:12.240 --> 0:17:13.439 his son in Cuba. 0:17:13.800 --> 0:17:17.640 The familia. 0:17:18.760 --> 0:17:21.040 Elian's family is in Cuba. 0:17:21.320 --> 0:17:21.720 He said. 0:17:27.000 --> 0:17:30.800 He has free health care and education here. His life 0:17:30.920 --> 0:17:35.399 is here. The Irons interviewed Emiel two times in Cuba, 0:17:35.840 --> 0:17:39.280 even in a so called neutral space, to make sure 0:17:39.359 --> 0:17:42.239 he was fit as a father, and he told them 0:17:42.320 --> 0:17:46.560 Elean was his life quote. I taught him how to swim, 0:17:47.040 --> 0:17:50.760 do karate. He has a part of here, dogs, a 0:17:50.920 --> 0:17:55.440 bicycle and all kinds of toys. When Miuel always taught 0:17:55.520 --> 0:17:58.760 the I n S officials he wanted Elan to return 0:17:58.920 --> 0:18:03.960 immediately to Que Dins recognized that Emuel was likely being 0:18:04.000 --> 0:18:07.760 monitored by the Cuban government tim press, but this didn't 0:18:07.840 --> 0:18:10.680 mean that his request for Elian to be returned was 0:18:10.760 --> 0:18:11.440 not genuine. 0:18:12.080 --> 0:18:14.480 Let's say he wanted the boy to say. Could he 0:18:14.640 --> 0:18:17.440 have said that, I don't think so. I think once 0:18:17.480 --> 0:18:20.280 the Cuban government asked for the boy back, I don't 0:18:20.280 --> 0:18:21.720 think there was any way for the father to have 0:18:21.800 --> 0:18:22.080 said that. 0:18:24.080 --> 0:18:27.080 It's a very kind of Cuban problem in a sense, 0:18:27.240 --> 0:18:32.000 right where in a place where people are expected to 0:18:32.119 --> 0:18:35.440 say certain things, where people clap, even if they don't 0:18:35.480 --> 0:18:39.960 mean it, it's hard to distinguish between what is stated 0:18:40.080 --> 0:18:42.879 publicly and what is thought internally. 0:18:45.440 --> 0:18:48.840 A very Cuban problem, it is hard to know what 0:18:49.000 --> 0:18:52.359 people really wanted in the alien case versus what they 0:18:52.480 --> 0:18:57.560 said they wanted on both sides, and that includes Elian himself. 0:18:59.080 --> 0:19:02.280 The boys family in Miami kept saying, oh, he wants 0:19:02.320 --> 0:19:02.680 to stay. 0:19:03.600 --> 0:19:06.080 I've asked him if he wanted to stay or if 0:19:06.160 --> 0:19:08.240 he wanted to go back, and he told me he 0:19:08.359 --> 0:19:09.000 wanted to stay. 0:19:10.680 --> 0:19:12.720 Even if the boy said that, can you take that 0:19:12.920 --> 0:19:15.560 as a fact When he's a little boy who's being 0:19:15.640 --> 0:19:18.040 given all these presents and he just lost his mother 0:19:18.200 --> 0:19:21.679 and he's becoming attached to his cousin as a mother figure. 0:19:34.760 --> 0:19:37.080 A couple of weeks after our meeting with the Cuban 0:19:37.160 --> 0:19:39.320 Mission in New York, we got news. 0:19:40.119 --> 0:19:41.160 He was not good news. 0:19:42.720 --> 0:19:47.760 Hello, Tim, I just saw the messages that or visa 0:19:48.200 --> 0:19:51.920 was the night and looking at the email, it says, 0:19:53.080 --> 0:19:56.400 I regret to inform you that the visa for Futuro 0:19:56.520 --> 0:19:59.920 Media for the project about Elian Gonzalez in Cuba was 0:20:00.119 --> 0:20:07.560 not approved. You know, no explanation, no avenue for week, consideration, 0:20:08.840 --> 0:20:13.359 not anything. So it's official denied the visa to go 0:20:13.440 --> 0:20:14.359 tomorrow country. 0:20:19.840 --> 0:20:20.480 I felt bad. 0:20:22.600 --> 0:20:25.879 It should not be like that, And then after we 0:20:26.080 --> 0:20:29.160 asked for another meeting to make our case, the Cuban 0:20:29.200 --> 0:20:32.840 mission agreed. We were hopeful this would mean their second chance. 0:20:33.359 --> 0:20:35.080 So the team went back without me. 0:20:38.160 --> 0:20:42.040 And in Midtown Manhattan having a British javou. 0:20:42.760 --> 0:20:45.480 This is gonna be ten number two. 0:20:46.920 --> 0:20:51.560 The next day Nicole and Or executive producer Marlon Bishop called. 0:20:51.359 --> 0:20:53.880 Me, Okay, can you both hear each other? 0:20:54.359 --> 0:20:54.600 Hello? 0:20:55.680 --> 0:20:55.800 Hi? 0:20:56.160 --> 0:21:00.200 So yeah, we wanted to record a call and you 0:21:00.280 --> 0:21:03.399 know about how it went at the Cuban mission. 0:21:03.880 --> 0:21:04.160 Okay. 0:21:05.040 --> 0:21:07.760 He kind of started off as like this speech about 0:21:07.800 --> 0:21:10.320 like US Cuba relations and why they have to be 0:21:10.760 --> 0:21:14.720 very careful diligent about do they approve journalist thesis for 0:21:15.600 --> 0:21:19.480 but and he was just pretty like the rest their 0:21:19.640 --> 0:21:20.639 concerns were. 0:21:20.760 --> 0:21:25.400 Over up anyway, They had done some dging on us, 0:21:26.080 --> 0:21:28.399 and the problem, it turns out, was me. 0:21:28.840 --> 0:21:30.680 So yeah, they left the room for a second and 0:21:30.840 --> 0:21:33.520 he came back with a cell phone and he had 0:21:33.720 --> 0:21:37.280 already pulled up your Twitter with the keyword of Cuba 0:21:37.840 --> 0:21:41.200 and reading through tweets that you've made about Cuba in 0:21:41.280 --> 0:21:45.280 the past, specifically about the protests that were happening. 0:21:45.800 --> 0:21:49.280 They didn't like some tweets, so they denied our visas. 0:21:49.800 --> 0:21:52.919 I was informant to my followers on Twitter that there 0:21:53.040 --> 0:21:57.480 was a protest in Mexico City, mirrowing the protest in Cuba, 0:21:57.640 --> 0:21:59.560 so basically I was doing my reporter job. 0:22:00.000 --> 0:22:01.760 I said the same thing. I said, I think she's just, 0:22:02.119 --> 0:22:04.480 you know, informing people that this is going on, and 0:22:04.600 --> 0:22:06.600 he's like, no, there's other tweets where it's you know, 0:22:07.040 --> 0:22:09.280 it's more of a call to action. Well, I guess 0:22:09.320 --> 0:22:11.360 this one is a little more opinionated. It says from 0:22:11.440 --> 0:22:14.520 July twelve, twenty twenty one, just google the tennessa oil 0:22:14.600 --> 0:22:19.840 no importancy to ninety's most to Kuba Party. 0:22:20.119 --> 0:22:22.359 My tweet said Cuba needs you today. 0:22:22.880 --> 0:22:24.920 It doesn't matter if you don't get what's going on, 0:22:25.640 --> 0:22:28.880 or if you once admired the Custro regime dot dot 0:22:28.960 --> 0:22:33.480 dot Today what matters is that you listen, look, speak. 0:22:34.880 --> 0:22:37.399 I wrote a series of tweets calling for attention to 0:22:37.480 --> 0:22:41.000 the massive protests of July twenty twenty one, when, for 0:22:41.119 --> 0:22:44.520 the first time in decades, thousands of Cubans came out 0:22:44.560 --> 0:22:51.560 to the streets to protest against the Jewan government, protesting 0:22:51.640 --> 0:22:55.080 in a dictatorship at the high risk of spending. 0:22:54.800 --> 0:22:57.960 Years in Yale. It's a big deal. Yes. 0:22:58.200 --> 0:23:01.720 In this particular tweet, I share my opinion. It came 0:23:01.760 --> 0:23:04.679 from a reflection I had from when I was younger 0:23:04.800 --> 0:23:08.560 and less critical of the Cuban government. Back then, I 0:23:08.680 --> 0:23:11.800 felt that the intentions of the Cuban government were good, 0:23:12.440 --> 0:23:15.639 but it was just that our circumstances as a country 0:23:15.720 --> 0:23:16.400 were difficult. 0:23:17.040 --> 0:23:18.359 And I know I'm not alone. 0:23:18.920 --> 0:23:21.520 A lot of people in the world have been moved 0:23:21.600 --> 0:23:24.399 by this idea that Cuba is standing up to the 0:23:24.600 --> 0:23:29.159 US like David versus Goliath. I was hoping to appeal 0:23:29.240 --> 0:23:32.800 to those people outside of the island who once believed 0:23:32.920 --> 0:23:36.879 in Castro's revolution. I wanted them to listen to what 0:23:37.119 --> 0:23:49.359 actual Cubans on the island were saying. Even now, I 0:23:49.520 --> 0:23:53.399 don't regret writing that tweet. As a journalist, I'm always 0:23:53.520 --> 0:23:57.000 very careful with getting involved with my stories, but I'm 0:23:57.040 --> 0:24:00.040 also a human and I felt like remaining side I 0:24:00.119 --> 0:24:03.960 lent in front of those protests was wrong. So when 0:24:04.040 --> 0:24:07.600 we got the rejection, I was not surprised, but I. 0:24:07.760 --> 0:24:08.280 Was hard. 0:24:16.520 --> 0:24:20.680 So basically because I tweeted those things, we are prevented 0:24:20.800 --> 0:24:25.000 from interviewing Alien. That's why he said, Like officially he didn't. 0:24:24.800 --> 0:24:27.440 In those words like you can't interview Alien, as he said, 0:24:28.040 --> 0:24:30.240 you know, I think we're going to have to take 0:24:30.280 --> 0:24:33.119 a pause, but it was clear that he meant that 0:24:33.320 --> 0:24:35.840 this project, you know, wasn't going to be able to 0:24:35.880 --> 0:24:38.320 go forward, that we need to build trust as an 0:24:38.480 --> 0:24:39.840 organization with Cuba. 0:24:41.000 --> 0:24:43.200 One of the reasons I have spent most of my 0:24:43.400 --> 0:24:47.359 career reporting about corruption and injustices in Mexico is because 0:24:47.359 --> 0:24:50.439 I have been prevented from reporting about my own country. 0:24:51.200 --> 0:24:54.439 I believe that journalism makes a country better, or at 0:24:54.560 --> 0:24:58.080 least more aware of its problems and failures. It's not 0:24:58.280 --> 0:25:00.520 the work of journalists to be a mouth peace for 0:25:00.680 --> 0:25:01.400 any government. 0:25:02.359 --> 0:25:04.600 I know my people, you know, I know how they work. 0:25:05.760 --> 0:25:08.080 But at the same time, it is part of the story. 0:25:08.480 --> 0:25:10.639 This is part of why we have been saying that. 0:25:10.880 --> 0:25:12.960 This is the story that goes beyond a Yan and 0:25:13.119 --> 0:25:17.200 goes into what was Fiva twenty five years ago and 0:25:17.359 --> 0:25:20.440 what is Stula today. So twenty five years ago, my 0:25:20.640 --> 0:25:21.879 father was prevented to. 0:25:21.920 --> 0:25:24.960 Be with me, and now I'm prevented. 0:25:24.640 --> 0:25:25.760 To go to my own country. 0:25:36.040 --> 0:25:39.320 Four months after Elean was found at sea, the Miami 0:25:39.480 --> 0:25:44.800 family would get their wish, the possibility of a family reunification. 0:25:45.480 --> 0:25:48.879 Juan Miguel Gonzalez is ready at a moment's notice to 0:25:49.000 --> 0:25:51.800 come to the United States to be reunited with his son. 0:25:52.960 --> 0:25:57.160 This is Gregory Craig, Quamiel's attorney, who had also represented 0:25:57.320 --> 0:26:01.800 President Bill Clinton when he faced Impishma and greg traveled 0:26:01.800 --> 0:26:05.040 to Cuba and met with Viel Castro, who signed off 0:26:05.160 --> 0:26:09.960 on him representing Famiel, and some assumed Castro was footing 0:26:10.000 --> 0:26:13.639 the bill, but what was reported at the time was 0:26:13.720 --> 0:26:18.120 that Amielle's attorney was paid for by a church group's donations. 0:26:19.040 --> 0:26:22.639 After the visit, greg announced Jamiel would be coming to 0:26:22.760 --> 0:26:23.520 the United States. 0:26:24.080 --> 0:26:28.280 He has been ready, willing, and waiting for too many weeks, 0:26:28.880 --> 0:26:30.000 too many months. 0:26:30.640 --> 0:26:31.760 But with a condition. 0:26:32.480 --> 0:26:35.119 He needs only to be told that when he. 0:26:35.200 --> 0:26:36.119 Comes here, he. 0:26:36.160 --> 0:26:38.960 Will in fact be given custody of his son. 0:26:40.000 --> 0:26:43.480 A condition that the Miami family had promised. 0:26:43.240 --> 0:26:43.960 To deliver on. 0:27:05.119 --> 0:27:08.119 In the early hours of April sixth, two thousand, Fidel 0:27:08.200 --> 0:27:11.720 Castro personally saw off Jamiel when he left for the US. 0:27:12.359 --> 0:27:15.080 His wife and their son, who was six months old, 0:27:15.400 --> 0:27:18.560 traveled with him. Their family kissed them goodbye on the 0:27:18.640 --> 0:27:24.880 tarmac before the sun even rose. This means a lot 0:27:25.000 --> 0:27:28.800 to me. April sixth is my birthday. I was turning 0:27:28.960 --> 0:27:33.639 thirteen that year, becoming a teenager. So while Famiel was 0:27:33.720 --> 0:27:36.440 on his way to be reunited with his son with 0:27:36.640 --> 0:27:40.640 Castro's blessing and support, I was still away from my dad, 0:27:41.359 --> 0:27:45.840 separated by the US Cuba policies. Fidel spoke to the 0:27:45.960 --> 0:27:49.320 press as the plane left. He said he had faith 0:27:49.560 --> 0:27:50.760 it would all work out. 0:28:13.480 --> 0:28:17.359 Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to welcome one Michuel Gonzales 0:28:17.359 --> 0:28:18.640 to the United States America. 0:28:19.960 --> 0:28:23.520 Immediately after landing in the United States, Joamiguel gave a 0:28:23.600 --> 0:28:27.679 press conference on the tarmac alongside his lawyer, his wife 0:28:27.840 --> 0:28:28.600