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Speaker 1: From Futuro Media and PRX. It's Latino Usa. I'm Maria

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Speaker 1: no Rosa Today a young Cuban boy rescued from the

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Speaker 1: sea and the high stakes international custody battle that followed.

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Speaker 1: Twenty five years later. Welcome to Latino USA. I'm Maria Inojosa.

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Speaker 1: I remember that Thanksgiving Day way back in nineteen ninety nine.

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Speaker 1: I was at home with the kids, and then a

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Speaker 1: story broke on the news that drew all of our attention.

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Speaker 1: It was about a little boy who had been rescued

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Speaker 1: from the Florida Straits. His name is Elean Gonzalez.

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Speaker 2: Thanksgiving Day, nineteen ninety nine, two fishermen pull a barely

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Speaker 2: conscious boy from the waters off the coast of Fort Lauderdale.

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Speaker 2: The boy is found alone, clinging to an inner two.

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Speaker 1: The sigus for Yallo, Flodangel and Marfa in Telascosta is

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Speaker 1: the four Lawyer Delia.

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Speaker 3: Do you know the boy Nado Dalrymple was fishing for

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Speaker 3: Mahi mahi in heavy surf in three miles off the

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Speaker 3: coast of Fort Lauderdale.

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Speaker 1: Now, if you were around in nineteen ninety nine, you

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Speaker 1: definitely remember that name because it was a massive story,

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Speaker 1: one that was on the news every single night for weeks,

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Speaker 1: a dramatic custody battle between the boys family in Miami

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Speaker 1: and his father back in Cuba. But it wasn't just

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Speaker 1: a family drama. It was drama with major diplomatic and

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Speaker 1: political consequences.

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Speaker 2: The battle for the five year old boy ignites.

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Speaker 4: La Mansion.

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Speaker 5: Drew a blanket over a point million.

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Speaker 6: Gonzalez and a female Spanish speaking I ins agent.

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Speaker 7: Bundled him into one of the vands.

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Speaker 1: This Thanksgiving will be the twenty fifth anniversary of Alien's

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Speaker 1: rescue and the story that unfolded, and so we wanted

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Speaker 1: to mark the occasion by revisiting what happened and looking

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Speaker 1: at the legacy a quarter century later.

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Speaker 8: So to do so.

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Speaker 1: Joining me in our studio is my co executive producer

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Speaker 1: here at Latino USA. Her name is Benny Leiramidez. You've

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Speaker 1: heard her on the show before and hey, Benny Lay,

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the show.

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Speaker 3: Ola Maria, Hello to you all. I'm very very happy

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Speaker 3: to be back.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. And so Penny Ley has been reporting on Alien

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Speaker 1: for a new podcast series produced by our very own

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Speaker 1: Futuro Studios. The name of the podcast is called Chess

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Speaker 1: Piece The Alien Gonzalez story. So, Penny, it's great to

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Speaker 1: have you back. But I think what listeners don't know

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Speaker 1: is that you're actually Cubans. So this story is I mean,

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Speaker 1: it's deeply personal for you.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, it is deeply personal, Maria, because I was born

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Speaker 3: in Cuba. I left Cuban went to Mexico when I

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Speaker 3: was fourteen years old, but all my family lives in Miami,

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Speaker 3: so I have these strong connections not just with the

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Speaker 3: Cuban experience, but also with the exile experience of Cuban

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Speaker 3: Americans in the US, specifically in Miami. So something that

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Speaker 3: we have been reflecting a lot in the team is

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Speaker 3: that family separation is really key to explain the Quban

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Speaker 3: experience and also how Elian's story is also the story

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Speaker 3: of many of us, all of us Cubans. And during

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Speaker 3: the reporting of the series, every single source that I

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Speaker 3: have been interviewing for this podcast, Cubans and Cuban Americans,

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Speaker 3: have said, I have some sort of family separation story

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Speaker 3: in my own family, in my experience. So here in

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Speaker 3: this episode we will get a lot about what happened

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Speaker 3: with Elyan back then, what's been happening in his life,

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Speaker 3: where is Elian now today after twenty five years. But

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Speaker 3: also we will get really personal about what does it

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Speaker 3: mean for us as Cubans. But I know Maria that

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Speaker 3: you are also somehow connected to this story because when

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Speaker 3: this happened, you cover it as a journalist. So I

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Speaker 3: also wonder, Maria, how was for you to report this

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Speaker 3: story about Elean. You were a young mom at that point.

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Speaker 3: What was your experience covering the story?

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Speaker 1: So at that time, I was a CNN correspondent based

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Speaker 1: in New York City, but the story of Elian Gonzalez

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Speaker 1: was a story that went on for weeks and weeks,

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Speaker 1: and so all of the national correspondents were taking turns

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Speaker 1: going down to Miami where there was essentially a vigil

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Speaker 1: in front of the home where Alien was being held

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Speaker 1: by his family members. In Miami, I mean there was music,

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Speaker 1: there were prayer ceremonies, there was chanting, there was food,

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Speaker 1: una sena total una senna, And so at one point

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Speaker 1: I was sent down to do my turn covering the story.

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Speaker 1: Of course, it meant I had to leave my one

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Speaker 1: year old daughter behind and my two year old son.

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Speaker 1: I just remember thinking about this child, like we're standing

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Speaker 1: in front of his home reporting I mean, I was

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Speaker 1: doing a live hit from Elian Gonzalez's family's home every hour,

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Speaker 1: and I'm not sure if I told you about one

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Speaker 1: of the most memorable things that happened when I was

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Speaker 1: reporting down there.

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Speaker 3: Now, I want to know, Well.

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Speaker 1: The Cubans in Miami hated CNN. They called it the

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Speaker 1: Castro News Network, and so when it was discovered that

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Speaker 1: I was a CNN correspondent, all of the folks that

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Speaker 1: were in front of Ilian's home came and surrounded me

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Speaker 1: and my cameraman and my soundtech and they started screen

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Speaker 1: and casean because they said we were communists because we

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Speaker 1: worked for CNN. I'm saying that story because the level

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Speaker 1: of emotional drama that was happening in front of the

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Speaker 1: home where Elian was staying. I mean, the police had

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Speaker 1: to come and take me out of the place.

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Speaker 3: Vinny late, Well, Maria, I'm not surprised about what happened

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Speaker 3: to you in front of the house, because that was

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Speaker 3: the level of emotional tension that you can feel and

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Speaker 3: see for the story both in Havanah and in Miami.

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Speaker 1: You know, I remember something that was very revealing when

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Speaker 1: I was covering Ilian was when I interviewed Cuban professor

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Speaker 1: Max Castro, and he said, the thing is is that

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Speaker 1: what you have to understand is that Cubans are living

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Speaker 1: with PTSD because they have never really processed the trauma

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Speaker 1: of leaving Cuba and being separated and unable to go

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Speaker 1: back and making the decision to not go back.

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Speaker 3: And migration is still an issue between Cuba and the

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Speaker 3: United States, especially since Cuba's economic crisis have been worsening

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Speaker 3: in the last years since COVID And if you see

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Speaker 3: recent data, Maria, it's really worrying because over a million

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Speaker 3: people have left the island between twenty twenty two and

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Speaker 3: twenty twenty three, and this has been the main factor

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Speaker 3: contributing to a massive fall in Cuban's population. So by

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Speaker 3: the end of twenty twenty three, just to give you

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Speaker 3: a number, Maria, the population of Cuba was similar to

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Speaker 3: what it was in nineteen eighty five. It's a seal

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Speaker 3: An issue today because a lot of immigrants from Cuba

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Speaker 3: are arriving in the United States seal today like every

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Speaker 3: single day.

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Speaker 1: And actually Cubans are the fourth largest population of Latinos

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Speaker 1: and Latinas living in the United States. That means that

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Speaker 1: they have power and influence US policy towards Cuba continues

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Speaker 1: to be a motivating factor for Cuban American voters, especially

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Speaker 1: in Florida.

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Speaker 3: I will say this is the most personal project I

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Speaker 3: have done in my entire career, and I'm so happy

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Speaker 3: to bring it also to the audience of Platina, USA.

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Speaker 8: And I haven't heard it.

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Speaker 1: So without further ado, let's get to the story. This

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Speaker 1: is chest Peace, the Alien Gonzalez Story with PENNILLEI Ramrez.

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Speaker 3: The water changes from a beautiful shade of teal to

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Speaker 3: sapphire blue. When there's a storm, it looks almost black.

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Speaker 3: It is a narrow strip of water, the space between

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Speaker 3: two landmasks, a place with dolphins and sharks and nearly

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Speaker 3: seven hundred species of marine life, more than any other

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Speaker 3: place in the Atlantic Ocean. It's a life giving place,

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Speaker 3: but it's also volatile, erratic taking life, and this stretch

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Speaker 3: of sea has often been deadly for people trying to

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Speaker 3: get from one side to the other. From Cuba, where

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Speaker 3: I was born, to Florida, where much of my family

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Speaker 3: now lives. The water in between these two places holds

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Speaker 3: memories of countless storms. I'm going to tell you about

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Speaker 3: one of these storms, a storm from twenty five years ago.

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Speaker 6: That morning, the seas were really rough, eightelve foot swells,

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Speaker 6: and the sky I remember, was black to one side,

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Speaker 6: and daylight was coming up and there was like a

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Speaker 6: rainbow out there.

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Speaker 3: This is Donato about grimple. He's been in Florida for years.

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Speaker 3: A storm doesn't face him. So on Thanksgiving nineteen ninety nine,

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Speaker 3: he went to his cousin Sam's house to go fishing.

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Speaker 6: Only for him to tell me that we weren't going

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Speaker 6: to go fishing because the Marine Advisory was saying that

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Speaker 6: it was too rough to be out on the ocean

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Speaker 6: that day.

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Speaker 3: But Donato and his cousin breaved the aftermath of the

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Speaker 3: storm anyways, and then they see something in the water.

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Speaker 6: And we ran across an inner tube and that's where

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Speaker 6: it began for me. We found a little boy floating

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Speaker 6: about three miles off the coast of Fort Lauderdale.

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Speaker 3: That little boy was five year old Alean Gonzalez. He

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Speaker 3: had been floating in the ocean for at least a day,

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Speaker 3: maybe two. The legend is that he was protected by

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Speaker 3: dolphins in the dark, dangerous storm waters.

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Speaker 8: It looked like a little angel. I mean, it looks so.

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Speaker 3: Fresh an angel of a boy saved by dolphins. What

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Speaker 3: an image, what a story. Little did they not to

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Speaker 3: know this strong storm in the ocean would actually bring

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Speaker 3: more forceful storms, a political and legal storm.

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Speaker 9: He was cut in the crossfire between two governments, and

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Speaker 9: not just him, all Cubans are caught in that crossfire.

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Speaker 3: Below is very clear an abandoned child belongs with his father.

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Speaker 8: In his article Mianday through.

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Speaker 5: The Equatler Bratolpho.

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Speaker 7: He did.

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Speaker 10: It was a very close, pivotal, controversial election year, and

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Speaker 10: we all remember what happened right George W. Bush defeated

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Speaker 10: Al Gore in what state was the deciding state of Florida,

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Speaker 10: a media storm.

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Speaker 1: Tensions between the United States and Cuba get hotter every

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Speaker 1: day six year old Cuban refugee Alian Gonzales remains in

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Speaker 1: this country.

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Speaker 11: It was impossible to not be aware that something big

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Speaker 11: was happening in association with Elean Gonzalez.

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Speaker 6: In three minutes, six year old Elian Gonzales, dressed in

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Speaker 6: a T shirt, draped in fee was gone.

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Speaker 12: It was before a Lean and after Alian. It definitely

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Speaker 12: marked a line in the story in the history of

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Speaker 12: the Cuban exile in the United States, especially in Miami.

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Speaker 3: On a storm within a family.

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Speaker 10: I feel that he deserves to be here.

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Speaker 3: That's what his mom wanted it.

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Speaker 8: His mom is first to meet.

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Speaker 13: We want him to be in a free country with

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Speaker 13: his father, none alone. We want his father to be

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Speaker 13: with him. Okay, we want his father to be with him,

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Speaker 13: but free.

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Speaker 3: As we all know, when Alan came and found himself

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Speaker 3: lonely in this country, without no family, without his dad.

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Speaker 3: I was there and so was my family, supporting that.

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Speaker 13: Why are we giving the opportunity at this point to

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Speaker 13: speak for him?

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Speaker 3: All of these storms will tear a family apart, several

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Speaker 3: entire communities, some say, determine the fate of the two

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Speaker 3: thousand US presidential election. And in the eye of these storms,

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Speaker 3: this little boy and Penny later miss and this is

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Speaker 3: chess Peace, The Elian Gonzalez Story. This is a production

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Speaker 3: of Utura Studios in partnership with Ihearts Michael Tura podcast Network.

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Speaker 3: Before I tell you more about these storms from twenty

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Speaker 3: five years ago, I want to introduce myself. I'm an

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Speaker 3: investigated reporter who built my career in Mexico City. We

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Speaker 3: put in on cartels and political corruption tunes, The Esta

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Speaker 3: Pista and Carson Trianglo, Doradopean Gala, Manresa, Deroga. But now

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Speaker 3: I want to tell you a story closer to home.

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Speaker 3: One that I relate to was a Cuban as someone who,

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Speaker 3: similar to Elian, was separated from my father. I was

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Speaker 3: raised in Cuba, but lived most of my life in Mexico.

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Speaker 3: A few years ago, I moved to ni Or you

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Speaker 3: can hear my accent, I haven't been here for long.

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Speaker 3: I want to tell you a Lian's story in a

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Speaker 3: new way. As someone who was raised in Cuba but

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Speaker 3: whose family has been in Miami for decades, I have

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Speaker 3: experienced both of the very divided sides that animated Alian's story,

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Speaker 3: a story that has proven to be one of the

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Speaker 3: most difficult of my career. As the sun rose on

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Speaker 3: Fansgiving Day in nineteen ninety nine, Donato and his cousin

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Speaker 3: Sam were fishing for Mahi mahi seaweed and the bree

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Speaker 3: pepper dark ocean waters. They had fifties music playing on

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Speaker 3: the radio.

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Speaker 6: I remember the stinker raump bumpy, bump, bump, bump bump.

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Speaker 3: Two d through day, Sam told Donato the mahi mahi

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Speaker 3: liked to hide in it Donato wasn't the lookout. That's

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Speaker 3: when something caught his eyes some twenty five yards away.

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Speaker 6: I said, like, over there by that inner tube, and

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Speaker 6: my cousin said, because she had gone over by the

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Speaker 6: inner tube.

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Speaker 3: And as they got closer, Donato told.

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Speaker 8: Us some there's a dead person on this inner tube.

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Speaker 6: Because he goes, no, no, he goes, it's a sick

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Speaker 6: joke that somebody would tie a doll to this inner tube.

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Speaker 3: His cousin broughtet off, thinking someone was messing with them.

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Speaker 6: And then I looked again and I seen a hand move,

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Speaker 6: and I told my cousin, you're not gonna believe this.

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Speaker 6: I said, yes, that person I thought was dead must

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Speaker 6: be alive because the hand moved.

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Speaker 8: My cousin knew I wouldn't joke like that with him.

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Speaker 8: He goes, hurry, Herry, Harry.

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Speaker 3: They put the boat in gear and raced to the

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Speaker 3: inner tube.

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Speaker 6: Before I can blink my eye, my cousin was in

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Speaker 6: the water and he screamed, and it's a baby.

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Speaker 8: It's a baby, And I'm thinking myself a baby.

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Speaker 3: Donato frozen panic. The next thing he remembers is his

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Speaker 3: cousin Sam pushing up this little body from the ocean.

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Speaker 8: What he said was a baby became a little five

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Speaker 8: year old.

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Speaker 3: Boy, Elian Gonzalez.

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Speaker 1: Elian Gonzalezalez.

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Speaker 6: When I got him into my arms and I asked him,

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Speaker 6: I said are you okay? And he didn't answer me,

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Speaker 6: and I said, pabo saspanol and he said, see.

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Speaker 3: They gave the little boy some orange juice and a sweatshirt. Donato,

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Speaker 3: so he was scared.

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Speaker 8: He made like a sour face like he wanted to cry,

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Speaker 8: but he never cried.

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Speaker 3: Donato is a religious man and considers himself a missionary.

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Speaker 3: He was overcome with emotion.

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Speaker 8: I just looked up towards heaven.

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Speaker 6: I didn't realize at that moment that this would become

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Speaker 6: another mission for me.

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Speaker 3: Elian would become a mission for more than just a

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Speaker 3: Nato Allian would become a cast on both sides of

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Speaker 3: the Florida Straits. When Donato and Sam rescued Elian from

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Speaker 3: the boat, they called Sam's then wife, Nola, and she

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Speaker 3: called nine one one. Soon the coast guard was on

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Speaker 3: its way.

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Speaker 6: And the first thing I said to the coast guard

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Speaker 6: while we were on there, I said, is this boy

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Speaker 6: going to be able to make it to land?

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Speaker 3: The coast guard took Elian to land. When they go

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Speaker 3: to the coast, an ambulance and the media were waiting

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Speaker 3: for Eliane.

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Speaker 8: Do you know why?

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Speaker 10: Yeah, you know, this beautiful little boy and his beautiful

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Speaker 10: you know, big eyes and smooth, smooth skin and a big,

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Speaker 10: bright smile. It was like a miracle, right, a Thanksgiving miracle.

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Speaker 3: That's Politzer Prize winning Cuban American historian Ada Ferre. The

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Speaker 3: fact that he was found on Thanksgiving is one of

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Speaker 3: those details that make Allan's origin story in the US

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Speaker 3: almost sacred. Over and over we spoke with people who

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Speaker 3: tell us something like this, it's almost, you know, like

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Speaker 3: a biblical story. It was had poetic ramifications. He represented something,

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Speaker 3: he represented a miracle, and.

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Speaker 11: This became a symbol to them of the failure of

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Speaker 11: the communist system and the hope of the capitalist system,

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Speaker 11: the American system.

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Speaker 7: Thanksgiving is an American holiday, but it is a holiday

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Speaker 7: that people reflect Eleon plays into that.

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Speaker 3: This is Cuban American. Former Congressman Yogarcia, we talked about

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Speaker 3: the symbolism of Ileane arriving in the US or one

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Speaker 3: of the holidays most meaningful to Cubans here.

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Speaker 7: I don't know if you've ever had Cuban Thanksgiving, but

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Speaker 7: it transmoglification occurs, right. They take a dry piece of

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Speaker 7: turkey meat and they make it taste like pork.

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Speaker 3: And yes, I have had this turkey transmuted into pork

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Speaker 3: many times. My family have lived in Miami for decades

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Speaker 3: and I have celebrated many Thanksgivings there.

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Speaker 7: Somehow, just like you know priest turns water into wine,

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Speaker 7: Cubans take a turkey, which is inedible, they fill with

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Speaker 7: pork and meat ground beef inside. Then they cover the

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Speaker 7: turkey in bacon, and then they cook it with moho

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Speaker 7: and what comes out is a pork. It may be

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Speaker 7: a turkey, but it tastes like pork, right, and.

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Speaker 3: It's delicious, And it's delicious. I could see the congressman

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Speaker 3: getting emotional about Qan Thanksgiving, and I get it. For

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Speaker 3: Cubans in the US, this holiday holds a greater significance.

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Speaker 3: It's a profound celebration for us right with meaning.

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Speaker 7: And so many times when you are celebrating Thanksgiving, you

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Speaker 7: are thinking of those that can.

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Speaker 3: It's easy to get lost in the symbolism of Elian's rescue.

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Speaker 3: The image of an angel faced boy surrounded by dolphins

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Speaker 3: in the dark seas rescued on Thanksgiving, of all days.

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Speaker 3: But behind these idealistic symbols, there was a heroine journey.

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Speaker 3: Cuban journalist Harold carlinis, I think it's.

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Speaker 9: Easy to forget that these childhood events at a trauma

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Speaker 9: for Elian, and people often talked to him in Cuba

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Speaker 9: like this is just a political event, But for him,

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Speaker 9: this is the death of his mother.

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Speaker 3: Elean, like me, grew up in Cuba between divorced parents.

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Speaker 3: His name is actually a combination of his parents' first names,

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Speaker 3: Elizabeth and Jamie. It had been Elian's mother who decided

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Speaker 3: to risk that narrow strip of sea to get to

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Speaker 3: the United States. On the Sunday before Thanksgiving of nineteen

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Speaker 3: ninety nine, she took Eleane, with her boyfriend Rapha and

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Speaker 3: much of his family to flee Cuba on Aflotia across

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Speaker 3: the Florida Straits to the United States. Elizabeth surely knew

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Speaker 3: the risks. She had dressed Elian in old orange, a

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Speaker 3: color fisherman had told her would protect him against Charles.

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Speaker 10: They hit bad weather the boat had started taking on water.

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Speaker 3: A giant wave flipped the boat over and left a

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Speaker 3: group of fourteen with only two inner tubes. One of

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Speaker 3: Raffa's brothers said he could see.

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Speaker 8: The shore, maybe we can swim there, but they were nowhere.

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Speaker 6: Near the shore.

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Speaker 3: That's again Donato the rescue. From the beginning of the episode,

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00:23:25,720 --> 00:23:30,200
Speaker 3: Alien's mother's boyfriend, Rafa, attempted to rescue his brother, who

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Speaker 3: had tried to.

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Speaker 8: Swim to shore, but nobody returned.

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Speaker 3: When Rafa's mother realized her sons had drowned, she let

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Speaker 3: go of her inner tebe. Soon there were only four

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Speaker 3: people left, Elian and his mother Elizabeth, and a young couple,

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Speaker 3: Nvaldo Fernandez and Arian Orta. This couple was much less

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Speaker 3: in the media spotlight than Allan, but they also survived. Later,

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Speaker 3: Ninvaldo would tell reporters Elizabeth's last words to.

359
00:24:04,840 --> 00:24:10,000
Speaker 8: Him and you will tell me take care of you.

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Speaker 3: Of the board.

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Speaker 8: Trying to make it to land of Free. Make sure

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Speaker 8: that the child touches.

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Speaker 3: Land in the United States. That night on the ocean,

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00:24:24,920 --> 00:24:30,400
Speaker 3: the inner tubes somehow were separated. Years later, Eleann will

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Speaker 3: say he was in and out of sleep on the

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Speaker 3: inner tube and at some point he raised his head

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Speaker 3: and he didn't see his mom and abaday she lost

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Speaker 3: her life to save mine. Elizabeth drowned protecting Elian. Her

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Speaker 3: body was never found, lost forever in this stretch of sea.

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Speaker 3: The last thing Ellen remembered was looking up and being

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Speaker 3: alone in the middle of the From there, Elian traveled

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00:25:04,720 --> 00:25:09,639
Speaker 3: some thirty five miles north alone toward Donato, and his

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00:25:09,840 --> 00:25:15,480
Speaker 3: cousin found him that Thanksgiving day. Elean later told journalist

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Speaker 3: Diane Sawyer that he awoke at night on this journey

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Speaker 3: alone in the sea and saw dolphins protecting him. We

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00:25:24,600 --> 00:25:32,040
Speaker 3: spent some time drawing some waves, a dolphin himself in

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Speaker 3: an inner tube me. He said, I was sinking. After

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Speaker 3: the rescue, the cost guard took Elan, Donato, and his

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Speaker 3: cousin Sam to land, and from there Elian was wrapped

380
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Speaker 3: up in a thick blanket by medics, where news footage

381
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Speaker 3: captured his dasted, scared look on his face. Where's he

382
00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:06,160
Speaker 3: going out? As they loaded Alan on the stretcher into

383
00:26:06,240 --> 00:26:10,640
Speaker 3: the ambulance, Sam and Donato both patted him with care

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Speaker 3: on his head. They then follow Elian to the hospital.

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Speaker 6: That's today that I met Lazaro's uncle Delphine, which was

386
00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:22,280
Speaker 6: the great uncle, and Mary Lacy's.

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Speaker 3: This is the Gonzales family of Miami, Elian's paternal great

388
00:26:26,840 --> 00:26:31,280
Speaker 3: uncles Lasarro Andel Finn, and his second cousin Mary Jess.

389
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Speaker 3: It's just a miracle. God wanted him here for freedom.

390
00:26:39,520 --> 00:26:42,280
Speaker 3: Thanks here, and he's here and he will get it.

391
00:26:43,440 --> 00:26:46,600
Speaker 3: They knew Elean was coming because his father's family in

392
00:26:46,760 --> 00:26:51,040
Speaker 3: Cuba had called a few days before. Once they realized

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00:26:51,080 --> 00:26:54,159
Speaker 3: Eleane was taken by his mom, it would be the

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00:26:54,320 --> 00:26:58,280
Speaker 3: first collect call of many during this saga. Jua Miel

395
00:26:58,359 --> 00:27:03,320
Speaker 3: eventually sold his nineteen fifty six Nash Ramble to afford

396
00:27:03,480 --> 00:27:08,840
Speaker 3: all these calls. The day after Thanksgiving, Eliang was released

397
00:27:08,960 --> 00:27:13,760
Speaker 3: from the hospital. The former Immigration and Naturalization Service or

398
00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:18,200
Speaker 3: i in S placed Elian in temporary care with his

399
00:27:18,440 --> 00:27:19,600
Speaker 3: relatives in Miami.

400
00:27:20,160 --> 00:27:25,840
Speaker 5: Policies and protocols were executed and at the time it

401
00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:29,640
Speaker 5: required that he be placed into the care and custody

402
00:27:29,960 --> 00:27:32,720
Speaker 5: of the closest and media relatives, which he was.

403
00:27:33,520 --> 00:27:38,000
Speaker 3: This is Jim Coleman as special agent who worked the

404
00:27:38,119 --> 00:27:42,359
Speaker 3: case and that sort of when it all began. The

405
00:27:42,480 --> 00:27:47,080
Speaker 3: storm in the ocean had subsided, but the tempest was

406
00:27:47,320 --> 00:28:18,600
Speaker 3: just beginning. When Elean was rescued at sea. I was

407
00:28:18,680 --> 00:28:22,840
Speaker 3: a preteen in Lawanna. I was born there in nineteen

408
00:28:22,960 --> 00:28:26,000
Speaker 3: eighty seven, just a few years before the fall of

409
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Speaker 3: the Berlin Wall.

410
00:28:27,119 --> 00:28:30,000
Speaker 5: The iron curtain between East Germany and West Berlin has

411
00:28:30,040 --> 00:28:31,280
Speaker 5: come tumbling down.

412
00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:35,360
Speaker 3: And that meant a lot of changes for my little island.

413
00:28:36,119 --> 00:28:37,000
Speaker 5: The embargo is.

414
00:28:37,080 --> 00:28:40,280
Speaker 12: Finally having the effect on castrew that has been intended

415
00:28:40,360 --> 00:28:40,920
Speaker 12: all along.

416
00:28:41,720 --> 00:28:45,480
Speaker 3: It's time to tighten the screws, not loosen the screws.

417
00:28:46,480 --> 00:28:50,040
Speaker 3: What I remember most was how poor the country was.

418
00:28:50,640 --> 00:28:54,600
Speaker 3: With the Soviet Union falling apart and the US embargo

419
00:28:54,720 --> 00:29:00,440
Speaker 3: in place, Cuba's foreign trade suffered drastically. Lived in a

420
00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:06,040
Speaker 3: scarcity with no public transportation, no access to gasoline, and

421
00:29:06,360 --> 00:29:11,360
Speaker 3: almost no food. Havana was full of people biking everywhere,

422
00:29:11,960 --> 00:29:16,560
Speaker 3: and to me, everyone looked tired and thing. We had

423
00:29:16,680 --> 00:29:20,800
Speaker 3: four hours of electricity and then four hours without when

424
00:29:20,840 --> 00:29:25,480
Speaker 3: the electricity came back. Guand Via la lous I remember

425
00:29:25,560 --> 00:29:30,120
Speaker 3: the collective celebration bin Nola lu foro la LUs I.

426
00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:34,280
Speaker 3: Remember the happiness, the screams, and everyone turning on their

427
00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:40,400
Speaker 3: televisions to watch the de Lenoela. I lived mostly with

428
00:29:40,520 --> 00:29:45,280
Speaker 3: my mother, stepfather, brother, and Auela Delia in an apartment

429
00:29:45,520 --> 00:29:49,280
Speaker 3: in Los Aitios, Barrio Bravo a dangerous name for her,

430
00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:53,480
Speaker 3: but I never felt unsafe. My mom was all about

431
00:29:53,560 --> 00:29:58,200
Speaker 3: the education and rules. She was loving and straight. Some

432
00:29:58,520 --> 00:30:01,440
Speaker 3: of my biggest lifeless sense that I carry with me

433
00:30:01,800 --> 00:30:05,720
Speaker 3: are from her. Every two weeks I would visit my dad,

434
00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:09,200
Speaker 3: my step mom, and my little brother Juankey in the

435
00:30:09,320 --> 00:30:13,680
Speaker 3: outstairs of Havana. My dad would buy some seven miles

436
00:30:14,120 --> 00:30:16,840
Speaker 3: or take an old train to pick me up and

437
00:30:17,080 --> 00:30:20,880
Speaker 3: drop me off. At my dad's I felt more free.

438
00:30:21,680 --> 00:30:24,960
Speaker 3: He lived in a tiny apartment inside a solar the

439
00:30:25,080 --> 00:30:28,720
Speaker 3: Quban name for places with rooms around a patio, sometimes

440
00:30:28,760 --> 00:30:30,880
Speaker 3: with restrooms the whole building shared.

441
00:30:36,680 --> 00:30:36,960
Speaker 8: That's what.

442
00:30:38,560 --> 00:30:38,840
Speaker 5: Papa.

443
00:30:40,280 --> 00:30:43,760
Speaker 3: This is my dad who always calls me Money short

444
00:30:43,800 --> 00:30:49,320
Speaker 3: for Mineka. You guys look alike, see.

445
00:30:50,720 --> 00:30:51,240
Speaker 8: Me, Mouni.

446
00:30:51,760 --> 00:30:55,640
Speaker 3: We're super close and trust each other with anything.

447
00:30:57,000 --> 00:30:57,280
Speaker 2: You need.

448
00:30:57,560 --> 00:31:05,080
Speaker 3: A a year before Elean was rescued, my father told

449
00:31:05,120 --> 00:31:08,920
Speaker 3: me a secret one, but I couldn't tell a soul.

450
00:31:10,480 --> 00:31:13,840
Speaker 3: My dad was a coach for Cuba's national diving team.

451
00:31:14,440 --> 00:31:17,680
Speaker 3: In nineteen ninety eight, he was headed to South Florida

452
00:31:17,840 --> 00:31:23,240
Speaker 3: for an international diving competition. Before he left, he told me,

453
00:31:24,800 --> 00:31:30,600
Speaker 3: he said Money in noways he wouldn't be coming back

454
00:31:30,640 --> 00:31:39,480
Speaker 3: to Cuba and I will be staying in Cuba. It

455
00:31:39,720 --> 00:31:43,440
Speaker 3: was a dangerous secret. If I told my father could

456
00:31:43,480 --> 00:31:46,360
Speaker 3: get in trouble with the government, he could be prevented

457
00:31:46,440 --> 00:31:51,680
Speaker 3: from traveling or even go to jail. And it's something

458
00:31:51,960 --> 00:31:55,680
Speaker 3: nearly three decades later that my dad and I have

459
00:31:56,000 --> 00:32:01,320
Speaker 3: never really talked about until now, until I started digging

460
00:32:01,360 --> 00:32:05,760
Speaker 3: into my memories of Cuba during my reporting for this podcast.

461
00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:13,880
Speaker 8: Ragog Avenia a donderwater Midalison.

462
00:32:14,880 --> 00:32:17,760
Speaker 3: Leaving Cuba was something that had been weighing on him.

463
00:32:18,440 --> 00:32:21,360
Speaker 3: He wanted to find a life with more food and

464
00:32:21,680 --> 00:32:25,600
Speaker 3: more freedom, you.

465
00:32:25,640 --> 00:32:29,000
Speaker 5: Know Savaka diem Po sartin Ken.

466
00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:35,040
Speaker 3: And patan moment when he decided to leave. He had

467
00:32:35,200 --> 00:32:37,880
Speaker 3: no idea when we will be able to see e

468
00:32:37,960 --> 00:32:38,640
Speaker 3: shot again.

469
00:32:39,160 --> 00:32:42,920
Speaker 8: I got the a ko to talk again, but sim

470
00:32:44,040 --> 00:32:45,200
Speaker 8: con but.

471
00:32:45,320 --> 00:32:48,880
Speaker 3: My father wanted me to know the truth. So my

472
00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:55,920
Speaker 3: father went to Florida and never came back. He found

473
00:32:55,960 --> 00:32:59,200
Speaker 3: a job at a public pool teaching kids how to swim.

474
00:33:00,160 --> 00:33:05,040
Speaker 3: Of them were second generation immigrants from Latin America. Recently

475
00:33:05,440 --> 00:33:07,800
Speaker 3: I spoke with some of the swimmers he coaches.

476
00:33:08,400 --> 00:33:15,360
Speaker 14: He was my coach, a father figure, a grandpa. Soone

477
00:33:15,400 --> 00:33:20,720
Speaker 14: you're can ask advice for his everything. He's my everything.

478
00:33:22,720 --> 00:33:26,200
Speaker 3: It makes me emotional hearing his students calling him family.

479
00:33:27,200 --> 00:33:29,880
Speaker 3: They got to be with my dad for so many years,

480
00:33:30,760 --> 00:33:42,040
Speaker 3: something that was taken from me. In nineteen ninety eight,

481
00:33:42,440 --> 00:33:45,560
Speaker 3: when my dad didn't return to Cuba, he was marked

482
00:33:45,560 --> 00:33:48,760
Speaker 3: as a trader by the Cuban government, and my family

483
00:33:49,080 --> 00:33:50,360
Speaker 3: paid the consequences.

484
00:33:51,080 --> 00:33:59,320
Speaker 6: Okaya kula, no so you in the sector Yoso jun trailer.

485
00:34:00,120 --> 00:34:03,600
Speaker 3: We were forbidden from leaving Cuba or seeing my dad

486
00:34:03,800 --> 00:34:08,320
Speaker 3: for at least three years. He lost all parents, our rights.

487
00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:10,520
Speaker 5: Oh see why you feel like.

488
00:34:12,360 --> 00:34:12,400
Speaker 3: Me?

489
00:34:13,760 --> 00:34:15,080
Speaker 5: Hey, Superto.

490
00:34:16,760 --> 00:34:21,040
Speaker 3: To be Cuban like Elean and me means that governments

491
00:34:21,160 --> 00:34:24,200
Speaker 3: and their policies dictate if you can grow up with

492
00:34:24,320 --> 00:34:29,080
Speaker 3: your parents. More often than not, the policies separate us

493
00:34:30,760 --> 00:34:34,839
Speaker 3: a short ninety mile stretch of ocean apart.

494
00:34:39,360 --> 00:34:47,880
Speaker 4: Taking our shoes off to get onto the sand in

495
00:34:48,080 --> 00:34:52,320
Speaker 4: the hot No, I feel I'm burning fee Oh Jesus, Oh,

496
00:34:52,400 --> 00:34:56,040
Speaker 4: I can't do it. Oh my okay, we're putting our

497
00:34:56,040 --> 00:34:56,680
Speaker 4: shoes back.

498
00:34:58,440 --> 00:35:02,440
Speaker 3: While reputting in Florida. Producer Tashasan Dovala and I try

499
00:35:02,520 --> 00:35:05,480
Speaker 3: to take a peaceful break at the beach, but the

500
00:35:05,600 --> 00:35:09,680
Speaker 3: sun is too hot even in May. So right now

501
00:35:09,760 --> 00:35:14,879
Speaker 3: we're standing in a beautiful white sand beach and next

502
00:35:14,960 --> 00:35:18,080
Speaker 3: to four daughter though, and we're just a few steps

503
00:35:18,160 --> 00:35:21,880
Speaker 3: from the station of the US Coast Guard here in

504
00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:25,640
Speaker 3: this place, and this is a station where Elean Gonzalez

505
00:35:26,239 --> 00:35:29,480
Speaker 3: was taken after he was found three miles from here

506
00:35:29,640 --> 00:35:33,280
Speaker 3: in the middle of the ocean. It's a bit disorienting

507
00:35:33,560 --> 00:35:37,640
Speaker 3: because the trees and land here resemble the beaches. I

508
00:35:37,840 --> 00:35:41,440
Speaker 3: remember as a kid in Cuba, you can hear the

509
00:35:41,560 --> 00:35:45,640
Speaker 3: airplanes from here because the airport it's so close. So

510
00:35:45,840 --> 00:35:49,880
Speaker 3: it's this paradox of it could be so easy to

511
00:35:50,040 --> 00:35:54,239
Speaker 3: get here, but it's so dangerous and so difficult. I

512
00:35:54,360 --> 00:36:00,480
Speaker 3: look at the water today, is pristine, crystalline, calm. It

513
00:36:00,600 --> 00:36:03,960
Speaker 3: makes me think of the beauty so many people describing

514
00:36:04,080 --> 00:36:08,880
Speaker 3: a Liian's rescue, the dolphins protecting this angelic boy on

515
00:36:09,080 --> 00:36:18,040
Speaker 3: Thanksgiving Day. It's a poetic visual. But the Lian's story,

516
00:36:18,440 --> 00:36:22,160
Speaker 3: just like the ocean, is darker than its glowing surface.

517
00:36:23,120 --> 00:36:26,480
Speaker 3: We cannot know for certain that there were dolphins that

518
00:36:26,600 --> 00:36:30,360
Speaker 3: protected Alan, and maybe his face looked like an angel

519
00:36:30,440 --> 00:36:34,920
Speaker 3: to his rescures, but really Elean was terrified and to

520
00:36:35,040 --> 00:36:38,600
Speaker 3: Miami Cubans. The fact that Elean was found on Thanksgiving

521
00:36:38,880 --> 00:36:42,120
Speaker 3: was a sign of hope, of the possibility of freedom.

522
00:36:42,840 --> 00:36:46,719
Speaker 3: But Thanksgiving meant nothing to Alian. That day was not

523
00:36:46,840 --> 00:36:49,759
Speaker 3: a holiday for him. That was the day when he

524
00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:57,080
Speaker 3: was alone at sea after losing his mother. So for

525
00:36:57,239 --> 00:37:00,719
Speaker 3: this podcast, I'm not interested in the myth. I want

526
00:37:00,880 --> 00:37:05,160
Speaker 3: the real story because underneath all the yeleg and lore

527
00:37:05,800 --> 00:37:07,040
Speaker 3: there is something messier.

528
00:37:07,560 --> 00:37:10,320
Speaker 5: Every day thing, it got worse and worsh and worsh

529
00:37:10,360 --> 00:37:11,840
Speaker 5: it got darker and deeper.

530
00:37:12,280 --> 00:37:14,480
Speaker 3: What work comes to your mind when I say the

531
00:37:14,520 --> 00:37:20,120
Speaker 3: word Elianli.

532
00:37:19,239 --> 00:37:22,399
Speaker 10: Pain, No matter what the outcome would have been, it's

533
00:37:22,560 --> 00:37:23,000
Speaker 10: just pain.

534
00:37:23,680 --> 00:37:26,719
Speaker 12: Was a triumph, I guess for his father, but for

535
00:37:27,400 --> 00:37:30,240
Speaker 12: hundreds of thousands of Cubans in Miami was a tragedy.

536
00:37:30,719 --> 00:37:31,360
Speaker 3: I would have to.

537
00:37:31,440 --> 00:37:34,839
Speaker 8: Say, with some misgivings, the word circus comes to mind.

538
00:37:35,239 --> 00:37:40,480
Speaker 10: I think puppet, I think dictatorship, I think the need

539
00:37:40,800 --> 00:37:43,879
Speaker 10: for truth to surface myth.

540
00:37:44,600 --> 00:37:49,200
Speaker 3: It was hard to know what actually was true eventually

541
00:37:49,239 --> 00:37:51,200
Speaker 3: in the end, and ely On.

542
00:37:51,680 --> 00:37:56,640
Speaker 11: He was kind of the passive voice in this. You know,

543
00:37:56,840 --> 00:37:58,719
Speaker 11: nobody could ask him what it means to be free?

544
00:38:00,719 --> 00:38:09,040
Speaker 3: And Felicia Kengo and Momento and this is Chess Peace.

545
00:38:09,880 --> 00:38:12,239
Speaker 3: The real Elian Gonzalez story.

546
00:38:23,239 --> 00:38:27,360
Speaker 1: That was episode one of Chess Peace. The Elian Gonzalez

547
00:38:27,440 --> 00:38:32,160
Speaker 1: Story Episode two is available now. Go to the Chess

548
00:38:32,360 --> 00:38:41,040
Speaker 1: Piece feed wherever you get your podcasts. Chess Piece is

549
00:38:41,120 --> 00:38:45,200
Speaker 1: written and reported by PENNILLEI Ramidez along with Nicole Rothwell,

550
00:38:45,400 --> 00:38:49,360
Speaker 1: Tasha Sandoval, and Maria Garcia, who also edited the series.

551
00:38:50,320 --> 00:38:55,240
Speaker 1: The podcast team also includes Jessica Ellis, Jacob Rossadi, Nidia

552
00:38:55,239 --> 00:39:00,920
Speaker 1: about Vista, Eveline Farhardo Albarez, Frances Boon, Elizabeth Loewen, Don Torres,

553
00:39:01,200 --> 00:39:04,960
Speaker 1: and Nancy Trujillo. Mixing by Stephanie Lebaud, Julia Caruso and

554
00:39:05,120 --> 00:39:09,520
Speaker 1: j J. Krubin Bgo review by Neo Rossini, end credits

555
00:39:09,640 --> 00:39:13,839
Speaker 1: music from Los Aceros. Marlon Bishop and Maria Garcia are

556
00:39:13,880 --> 00:39:17,680
Speaker 1: the executive producers of Chess Peace. This episode was recorded

557
00:39:17,719 --> 00:39:21,040
Speaker 1: in part at the Namika Studio in Mexico City. Part

558
00:39:21,080 --> 00:39:25,160
Speaker 1: of this episode was produced por Latino USA by Roxana Guire.

559
00:39:25,440 --> 00:39:27,120
Speaker 8: It was edited by Marlon Bishop.

560
00:39:27,640 --> 00:39:32,520
Speaker 1: The Latino USA team also includes Victoria Stravan, Prinaldo Leanos Junior,

561
00:39:32,719 --> 00:39:38,160
Speaker 1: Andrea Lopez Cruzado, Luis Luna, Glorimar Marquez, Marta Martinez Nor

562
00:39:38,320 --> 00:39:42,399
Speaker 1: Saudi and co executive producer Penile Ramirez I'm your host

563
00:39:42,440 --> 00:39:45,560
Speaker 1: and co executive producer Maria no Rosa join us again

564
00:39:45,640 --> 00:39:48,239
Speaker 1: on our next episode. In the meantime, look for us

565
00:39:48,320 --> 00:39:50,480
Speaker 1: on all of your social media. I'll see you there

566
00:39:50,520 --> 00:39:53,400
Speaker 1: and remember, as always, no tea, Yes Ciao.

567
00:39:55,920 --> 00:40:00,040
Speaker 3: Latino USA is made possible in part by w. K. A.

568
00:40:00,280 --> 00:40:04,960
Speaker 3: Kellogg Foundation, a partner with communities where Children Come First,

569
00:40:05,880 --> 00:40:12,120
Speaker 3: the Heising Simons Foundation Unlocking knowledge, opportunity and possibilities more

570
00:40:12,320 --> 00:40:18,360
Speaker 3: at hsfoundation dot org, and funding for Latino usas. Coverage

571
00:40:18,560 --> 00:40:21,160
Speaker 3: of a culture of Health is made possible in part

572
00:40:21,239 --> 00:40:23,720
Speaker 3: by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation