Speaker 1: April twenty one, two thousand, was a sunny day in Miami.
Speaker 1: Thames were in the mid eighties, not a drop of rain,
Speaker 1: and it was the start of Easter weekend. Protesters were
Speaker 1: still outside Aliant's relatives home, but despite the commotion outside,
Speaker 1: Elian's cousin Mary Lacy's tried to keep things normal inside.
Speaker 2: We were in the house with his little cousin making
Speaker 2: Easter eggs that we were supposed to find today in
Speaker 2: my backyard.
Speaker 1: There were at least eight relatives inside the home, including
Speaker 1: two other children besides Elian.
Speaker 3: Now this is a house full of people. When I
Speaker 3: say a house full, was a small, little home, not
Speaker 3: a slow home.
Speaker 1: This is the Nato dal rimple. Remember the man who
Speaker 1: rescued the liam from the ocean. He'd become pretty close
Speaker 1: with the family and he would go to their house
Speaker 1: practically every day. And this night, thanks Seamed come.
Speaker 3: I have a couple of little Cuban coffees with some people,
Speaker 3: and they were praying very peacefully.
Speaker 1: While the family hung out in the front of the house.
Speaker 1: There were lawyers in the back room negotiating with the government,
Speaker 1: trying to find a way to keep Elian in the US,
Speaker 1: and with the Miami family. One of the lawyers, Money Das,
Speaker 1: said that good Friday, during the day, we were told.
Speaker 4: Point blank, this agreement is acceptable to the Attorney General.
Speaker 4: It was faxed to her office because she wanted to
Speaker 4: see a facts of it. We have basically told the
Speaker 4: media that it looks like we're done. It looks like we.
Speaker 5: Have a deal.
Speaker 1: The moon rose that they turned into April twenty second.
Speaker 1: Elean was restless that night.
Speaker 2: And his words to me were, I love you Allah,
Speaker 2: I said, I love you too. And the other words
Speaker 2: he said to my father was I am very scared.
Speaker 2: Something's going to happen.
Speaker 1: Something did happen. Just after five am on that clear night,
Speaker 1: the family heard a big pound at the door, a
Speaker 1: pound that would change everything. A penny letter Mitz and
Speaker 1: this is chess peace. Delian Gonzalez story a production of
Speaker 1: Utudo Studios in partnership with Iheartsmichael Tura podcast Network. Before
Speaker 1: that faithful night in a pro two thousand, the US
Speaker 1: government had been talking with Alians Miami relatives for months.
Speaker 5: There was a lot of negotiation over a long period
Speaker 5: of time between people from Washington, DCA and attorneys and
Speaker 5: those a whole cast of characters.
Speaker 1: This is Jim Goldman, the Immigration and Naturalization Services director
Speaker 1: in charge of Alliant's case. His agency was trying to
Speaker 1: figure out how to reunite Alian with his father, but
Speaker 1: Alian's Miami relatives wanted the government to agree to certain terms.
Speaker 1: The relatives had proposed that a lean and the family
Speaker 1: be moved to a neutral place in South Florida, and
Speaker 1: there Alian's father, Juamiel could join them and reunite with
Speaker 1: the boy. They would all remain under the same groove
Speaker 1: until the whole thing was settled.
Speaker 4: I think we owe it to them to government of
Speaker 4: room somewhere and let them talk it through and see
Speaker 4: if they can come up with a solution to the
Speaker 4: problem that they decided.
Speaker 1: This is money. Yes again, one of the lawyers who
Speaker 1: represented Elian's Miami relatives, not that.
Speaker 4: Some politician or some lawyer or some judge decide, but
Speaker 4: let them make the decision.
Speaker 1: According to Money, they were just waiting for the final
Speaker 1: sign off from the government.
Speaker 4: Things look like they're going to be okay.
Speaker 1: And then at three am they heard back from the
Speaker 1: Attorney General and some of the terms had changed, but
Speaker 1: time was running out. You see, Money said that the
Speaker 1: Miami lawyers taught the government they would tune Lean over
Speaker 1: if they received a court order.
Speaker 4: We understand if a court a judge is telling us
Speaker 4: that this is what we have to do, we are
Speaker 4: prepared to do it.
Speaker 5: Not a problem.
Speaker 1: But the Miami family had already ignored an official order
Speaker 1: to turn the child in. Attorney General Janet Reno had
Speaker 1: standard the deadline for them to turn Elan in several times. Meanwhile,
Speaker 1: Elean at this point had not been seen in public
Speaker 1: for days. So the Miami relatives and the government had
Speaker 1: different versions of how negotiations were going.
Speaker 5: Every day there would negotiations, negotiations, and negotiations. Nothing seemed
Speaker 5: to work.
Speaker 1: While the talks with the family were ongoing, Jim Goldman
Speaker 1: was put in charge of developing an operational plan.
Speaker 5: To execute a rescue and recovery operation.
Speaker 1: For three months, his team put together the plan. The
Speaker 1: government called it Operation Reunion.
Speaker 5: The basic plan called for us to go to the
Speaker 5: door where Alien was being held, knock on the door,
Speaker 5: give commands in English and Spanish, identify ourselves and notify
Speaker 5: them they were executing a judicial order search Ward and
Speaker 5: that wi Wan Alien Gonzales.
Speaker 1: But the big question was with the Land's Miami relatives
Speaker 1: and the people around their home resist if so. Jim
Speaker 1: had a border patrol tactical unit meant for high risk
Speaker 1: situations at the ready.
Speaker 5: We had what's called a breaching team, a team of
Speaker 5: agents that had special tools in order to breach a door.
Speaker 5: If they did not open the.
Speaker 1: Door, Jim would be knocking on the door himself. In
Speaker 1: case the Miami family did not cooperate, Jim knew his
Speaker 1: team had to act fast, get inside the house, locate
Speaker 1: a lian, and get out of there as quickly as possible.
Speaker 5: Mind you, this was a sophisticated process, a.
Speaker 1: Plan with more than two hundred and fifty law enforcement
Speaker 1: officials from different agencies. The idea was to rush a
Speaker 1: lean out of the home and get him in the
Speaker 1: air as soon as as possible.
Speaker 5: The plan was to take him from the home to
Speaker 5: watch an island where he would be put in a helicopter.
Speaker 1: The helicopter ride would start the process to reunite with
Speaker 1: his father. Jim waited for orders from the highest levels
Speaker 1: of the US government.
Speaker 5: I think even President Clinton might have been involved in
Speaker 5: some capacity. I know that a call came in to
Speaker 5: the US Attorney who was sitting with us, and basically
Speaker 5: that ignited the final green light.
Speaker 1: The orders came, it was time to execute Operation Reunion.
Speaker 1: Jim and his team took off. It was about five
Speaker 1: in the morning on April twenty second. Soon he would
Speaker 1: be knocking on the door where Alyan State and the
Speaker 1: authorities praised themselves for how Alliance relatives might react. Just
Speaker 1: after five in the morning, Ramon's Aul Sanchez was camped
Speaker 1: outside of Alian's relatives home in Miami. He had been
Speaker 1: leading the protest there for weeks.
Speaker 6: I knew that if Alian was sent back, and I
Speaker 6: said many times, he's going to be turned into a
Speaker 6: fanatic of the Cuban dictator.
Speaker 1: Ramon was friends with the lawyers inside the house and
Speaker 1: they had told him that negotiations were going well. Manidias.
Speaker 1: Remember one of the lawyers said that the mediator told
Speaker 1: him that night that Attorny General Duino was happy with
Speaker 1: the progress.
Speaker 4: You're going to be happy with what she has to say,
Speaker 4: which is the first time I felt like the government
Speaker 4: of the United States was on my side. And I said, great,
Speaker 4: that's what I want to hear. He said, but don't
Speaker 4: go to see you stay up.
Speaker 1: Money stayed up waiting for confirmation of an agreement between
Speaker 1: the Miami family and the government. He was speaking with
Speaker 1: Aaron Puthurst, a renowned Miami lawyer who was standing in
Speaker 1: as an unofficial mediator.
Speaker 4: And then finally a very nervous call, very anxious call
Speaker 4: from Aaron who says to me, I don't know what's happened.
Speaker 1: Money was a stunt. In the week hours of the morning,
Speaker 1: they learned the government had changed the neutral location in
Speaker 1: Miami to the DC area, a term that last arrow
Speaker 1: Ileane's great uncle was not comfortable with.
Speaker 4: You know, I got to get the best reaction from
Speaker 4: a client at four in the morning. I said, look,
Speaker 4: let's just wait, let's just wait till the morning. Then
Speaker 4: he calls me back and he goes, it's worse. You know,
Speaker 4: I have five minutes to decide.
Speaker 1: Five minutes to decide the family would be willing to
Speaker 1: peacefully surrender Ellen. Now, Money couldn't believe it. He woke
Speaker 1: up the family and just as he was updating them,
Speaker 1: he heard commotion outside where Ramon was talking to other
Speaker 1: protesters camped in front of the house.
Speaker 6: Suddenly I see that the people looking, you know, their
Speaker 6: eyes got big, looking towards my back. You know, I
Speaker 6: was facing them, and like when I look back and
Speaker 6: saw them coming, I saw the authorities coming. I mean,
Speaker 6: they were all these marshals.
Speaker 1: Ramon immediately knew something big was about to happen.
Speaker 5: We're coming great right now.
Speaker 1: He'd been teaching the protesters something he called a human
Speaker 1: chain of Salidy, when people hooked their arms together to
Speaker 1: make it hard to get through them. He ran to
Speaker 1: the front of the house to try to stop the agents.
Speaker 6: Whenever I joined my two hands over my head, that
Speaker 6: would signal that we will rush and do the chain.
Speaker 6: And I did that. I did the signal, and everybody
Speaker 6: rushed the chain. But we didn't have time.
Speaker 1: The federal agents came in too fast.
Speaker 6: And I rushed inside and I stood in the door.
Speaker 6: I was expecting for them to hand me a court order,
Speaker 6: which is what we in said. Well, the court order
Speaker 6: was a rifle. Body hit in my head and they
Speaker 6: left to unconscious.
Speaker 1: Mary Lacy's was in the house with Elan and other relatives.
Speaker 2: You hear banging all over the door. You don't know
Speaker 2: who it is. We didn't know who it was.
Speaker 1: God for Bed.
Speaker 2: We thought it was the Cuban government coming inside my house.
Speaker 1: That big pound at the door was Jim Goldman. Jim
Speaker 1: announced himself and his team and that they were executing
Speaker 1: a warrant.
Speaker 5: US Immigration special agents opened the door. We have a
Speaker 5: surge horn up there, and he.
Speaker 1: Says he was outside knocking and he could hear movement
Speaker 1: inside the house.
Speaker 5: Matters only got worse because they refused to open the door.
Speaker 5: As I'm banging on the door and yelling, I could
Speaker 5: obviously hear feel and sense them moving barricades up to
Speaker 5: the door.
Speaker 3: I couldn't imagine that there was going to be guns
Speaker 3: outside and people saying get down or will shoot.
Speaker 1: Here is Donato again, the man who rescued Elian and
Speaker 1: who showed up at the house that night.
Speaker 3: And the next thing you know, I see Eli on
Speaker 3: He's crying and I should have been the last person
Speaker 3: that should have had him in my arms. But he
Speaker 3: fell right into my arms and I grabbed them and
Speaker 3: I held them, and I'm hearing a battering. Ran at
Speaker 3: the door and I ran into one of the bedrooms
Speaker 3: and it was locked. I ran into another one and
Speaker 3: it was locked.
Speaker 5: I had no choice but to breach that door. They
Speaker 5: entered to secure the perimeter, to make sure that we
Speaker 5: were going to meet armed resistance to make sure that
Speaker 5: someone wasn't holding Ilean hostage.
Speaker 1: As Donata tried to find a safer place with Lelyan,
Speaker 1: the family lawyer, Money Yes watched the agents storm in,
Speaker 1: and all of a.
Speaker 4: Sudden, I found myself with a little red dots on
Speaker 4: my chest, not knowing what to do, and of course
Speaker 4: the tear guys, so all of a sudden, her eyes
Speaker 4: all teared up.
Speaker 1: Money thought, was this really happening when just a few
Speaker 1: hours ago an agreement seemed so close, when Money knew
Speaker 1: Janet Reno from her days in Miami politics and had
Speaker 1: even supported her before.
Speaker 5: No, there's no way, you know.
Speaker 4: First of all, they know us. I mean, it's like
Speaker 4: we could all be dead, right, because it's not even
Speaker 4: the intentional act. It's the unintentional act of somebody bursting
Speaker 4: into a house holding a machine gun with a figure
Speaker 4: on the trigger, Like so many people in a very
Speaker 4: very small room, a little push or shelf could be
Speaker 4: misinterpreted and shots go off and everybody's dead.
Speaker 1: The house was filled with shouts. Mary Lacy's squeamed at
Speaker 1: the agents.
Speaker 2: I beg you, please don't let the boy see the guns. Please,
Speaker 2: don't give them to you. Please his eyes, mother's death.
Speaker 2: Don't let him see this, don't give.
Speaker 7: You the boy.
Speaker 1: Meanwhile, Donato panic in the front of the house. He
Speaker 1: banked on a bedroom door and Ilian's great uncle Lace
Speaker 1: let him in. Remember, Donato says, he was carrying Alian
Speaker 1: in his arms, and in the room with them were
Speaker 1: Lilian's great aunt and uncle and a news photographer from
Speaker 1: the Associated Press, Alan Diaz, who a family friend had
Speaker 1: led into the house as the agents rushed in.
Speaker 3: So I'm thinking, I got to protect him. They're going
Speaker 3: to kill us, We're all going to die in here.
Speaker 3: So I'm trying to look in the closet.
Speaker 1: Donato walked into a closet to hide, with a leanne
Speaker 1: steel in his arms.
Speaker 3: There, I was leaning up against this closet full of clothes.
Speaker 3: I was squatched up against there, and the door bust open,
Speaker 3: and there's a federal armed agent with a weapon on me,
Speaker 3: and he's saying, give me the kid, give me the
Speaker 3: blankety blank kid. And I said no. I said, I'm
Speaker 3: not going to give them to you. I said, you're
Speaker 3: going to hurt him. I said you have a weapon.
Speaker 3: I said, put your weapon down and I'll hand them
Speaker 3: to you, and the guy said, give me the kid,
Speaker 3: and then he takes his weapon off of me and
Speaker 3: he puts it on too.
Speaker 1: Alan Diaz, Alan Diaz, the AP photographer.
Speaker 3: She goes, put your camera down, and Alan says no.
Speaker 1: The officer pointed the gun back in the direction of
Speaker 1: Donato and you can.
Speaker 3: See this red little laser coming through. It is right
Speaker 3: right on us, right on me and Elian.
Speaker 6: And Elian was petrified.
Speaker 3: I mean, can you can't imagine a six year old
Speaker 3: waking up on the middle of the night. I'm an
Speaker 3: adult and I'm petrified. I remember saying, sir, put it down,
Speaker 3: and I guess I'll hand them to you.
Speaker 1: Then a woman agent appeared in the room where Donato
Speaker 1: held a lean. The armed agents ordered Donato to hand
Speaker 1: e lean over to the woman. Donato finally agreed. The
Speaker 1: entire time, the photographer, Alan Diaz, took pictures of this.
Speaker 3: Then he's just clicking off pictures. I hand over Elion
Speaker 3: to the lady and I heard the word bingo, and
Speaker 3: I learned later bingo means that they got him, and
Speaker 3: they were running out, and I ran out after them,
Speaker 3: and I pleaded with the man, can I please go
Speaker 3: with you, because he knows me very well. I don't
Speaker 3: know where you're taking him.
Speaker 1: The officers fend the Donato off and rushed out, trying
Speaker 1: to make their way to a waiting man with a
Speaker 1: lion behind the party.
Speaker 3: Now you got to imagine there was craziness. All the
Speaker 3: love and all the kindness that was outside now has
Speaker 3: turned to violence in people's minds because they came there
Speaker 3: with pepper spray and with tear gas and with battering rams.
Speaker 1: Remember there were dozens of protesters camped outside of Alan's
Speaker 1: home and they were leave it. Some of them tried
Speaker 1: to prevent the agents from living. The agents used force
Speaker 1: to get through the crowd.
Speaker 5: We had to fight our way back to the three cars.
Speaker 3: And they beat these people down, I mean not necessarily,
Speaker 3: but their goal was to get eli on and to
Speaker 3: get out of there.
Speaker 1: Jim says that the protesters outside started throwing objects at
Speaker 1: the officers.
Speaker 5: If anybody was going to get hurt, it could have
Speaker 5: been all on. They were throwing coolers and chairs, and
Speaker 5: that's why it took a lot of agents to keep
Speaker 5: the crowd dispersed and away from the vehicles.
Speaker 1: As federal agents rushed to get Elian in the car. Ramon,
Speaker 1: the protester who had tried to stop the agents at
Speaker 1: the front door, was still on the floor trying to
Speaker 1: recover from being hit with a rifle.
Speaker 6: I was scared any conscience, and I saw his two
Speaker 6: fee going like that as they rushed out, and I
Speaker 6: got up immediately to deal with the people because people
Speaker 6: got upset. That was the only moment that there was
Speaker 6: up from there that there was filets that I wasn't
Speaker 6: able to control.
Speaker 1: The crowd shouted at the agents as they got a
Speaker 1: land in the car. You get out now. It was
Speaker 1: shortly after five am. It had taken them three minutes
Speaker 1: to get inside the house, gravelan and get out. But
Speaker 1: those three minutes would be remembered forever by many Cuban
Speaker 1: Americans as the moment the US government seemed to betray
Speaker 1: its own people on Easter weekend.
Speaker 4: I mean, gotto mighty countries are at war with each other,
Speaker 4: they at least honor each other's religious holidays, and here
Speaker 4: we weren't even thought of that for American citizens. And
Speaker 4: so there was a part of me that just thought,
Speaker 4: you know, this can't happen.
Speaker 8: It took three minutes. In three minutes, six year old
Speaker 8: Alien Gonzales, dressed in a T shirt, draped in fear,
Speaker 8: was gone calculated chaos by heavily armed agents from US
Speaker 8: Immigrations who sprayed anyone in their past with pepper straight.
Speaker 5: It was forced met by an.
Speaker 1: That Saturday morning before Eastern Wall to wall coverage of
Speaker 1: the raid dominated global TV news.
Speaker 9: April twenty second, two thousand Federal agents raid the Little
Speaker 9: Havanah home of the Gonzales family, Elion Is seized.
Speaker 10: It played NonStop on CNN and all these channels.
Speaker 1: Alaferer, Cuban American historian.
Speaker 10: And the image that was always shown was that iconic
Speaker 10: image of a soldier with a gun and a helmet
Speaker 10: pointing a gun at not necessarily at a Leian, but
Speaker 10: Leian was being held by one of the fishermen who
Speaker 10: had become close to the family.
Speaker 1: Remember this was Alan Diaz, the Kuban American photographer with
Speaker 1: the AP who was in the room with Donato and
Speaker 1: Elian as agents storm in. By the way, Alan Diaz
Speaker 1: had gotten close with a family who had agreed to
Speaker 1: let him photograph should the raid ever take place. Even
Speaker 1: the government knew Alan might be in the house during
Speaker 1: Operation Reunion Attorney General Janet Reno said they had nothing
Speaker 1: to hide. It's Allan DS's photograph that became part of
Speaker 1: the mythmaking of the Elian case. And yet, like much
Speaker 1: of this story, there is much more to it than
Speaker 1: meets the eye. In the iconic image.
Speaker 10: They're hiding. It looks like in a closet. They're against
Speaker 10: the closet and the military guys pointing a gun at them,
Speaker 10: and Elian looks avoid.
Speaker 1: Those military looking guys were actually Border Patrol agents. In
Speaker 1: the photo, one of the agents is in the hallway,
Speaker 1: the other in the room with Donato a Alien. Both
Speaker 1: agents are wearing olive green combat uniforms, black helmets and
Speaker 1: large goggles. They have walkie talkies and they are wearing gloves,
Speaker 1: and they are holding big black guns. In the photo,
Speaker 1: the agent in the room points the gun in the
Speaker 1: direction of Donato a Alien. Donato is holding Alien his
Speaker 1: forearm between the boy and the gun. All three of
Speaker 1: them have their mouths open, seemingly shouting or crying, But
Speaker 1: the Lion's face is the most memorable. His eyes squinted
Speaker 1: in terror, like when you flinch bracing for something to
Speaker 1: hit you, his eyebrows furrowing shock and his mouth hangs
Speaker 1: as if he's shrieking in panic. His tender age is
Speaker 1: so obvious in this picture. He's a terrified little boy
Speaker 1: with a grown man pointing a gun in his direction.
Speaker 1: This photo was instantly seared in American consciousness.
Speaker 7: I think most of us were taken aback by the
Speaker 7: pictures in the press.
Speaker 1: This is Petrometo. He served as Assistant Secretary of State
Speaker 1: for the Western Hemisphere at the time.
Speaker 7: It gives you a moment in time. It doesn't mean
Speaker 7: that that's the way the whole raid took place. It
Speaker 7: doesn't mean that Elean was screaming and yelling the whole time.
Speaker 7: But that snapshot, that one snapshot, was what was plastered
Speaker 7: all over the international press.
Speaker 1: Other photos of the raid surfaced, like the one where
Speaker 1: the female agent carries Alyan to the car trying to
Speaker 1: avert protesters. The agent wincess as she tries to avoid
Speaker 1: being hit, and Alyan is crying hysterically, his face scrunched
Speaker 1: in horror onto the agent in his plat boxer underwear
Speaker 1: and a white T shirt. This photo spread resentment against
Speaker 1: Janet Reno, Bill Clinton and his Democratic administration.
Speaker 11: The image was shocking. It was an intense image. I
Speaker 11: think there are a few images ingrained in my mind
Speaker 11: as someone who was my age, and I think the
Speaker 11: twin hours, and I think Elliott I.
Speaker 12: Knew that he had been severely traumatized when his other
Speaker 12: perished and the other people on the boat perished, and
Speaker 12: I realized he was being taken away in the dark
Speaker 12: of night from in effect, the new mother figure in
Speaker 12: his life, Mighty Slaicius, And it was done in a
Speaker 12: terrifying way.
Speaker 1: Ala Ferrer, the Cuan American historian Tulla's an anecdote that
Speaker 1: shows how much people blamed Attorney General Janet Reno. Do
Speaker 1: you remember how your mother reacted to the raid?
Speaker 10: Oh, she was. She used to read the newspaper all
Speaker 10: the time, then Wibel Harald and there was a front
Speaker 10: page picture in one day of Janet Reno, and she
Speaker 10: took her scissors, her sewing scissors, and tore out the
Speaker 10: eyes of Janet Reno. That's how she felt. I mean,
Speaker 10: she was just and she you know, my mother was
Speaker 10: a lovely, funny, warm, warm woman, but she was so
Speaker 10: angry and it was just such an emotional, visceral response
Speaker 10: to the raid.
Speaker 1: But Attorney General Janet Reno said the operation was a success.
Speaker 9: Juan Miguel Gonzalez wants to be with his son and
Speaker 9: that will happen now. Law enforcement personnel were on the scene,
Speaker 9: were authorized too, and did make the final call as
Speaker 9: to win to enter the Gonzales home because this was
Speaker 9: a very carefully timed law enforcement operation.
Speaker 1: But her words meant nothing to Allian's family and to
Speaker 1: most Miami Cubans, because Reno had been raised in Miami.
Speaker 1: They thought she would have no better. They saw her
Speaker 1: as a trader, and not just her, the entire government
Speaker 1: and especially the Democrats who were in power.
Speaker 13: And you know what, Jennerno, even though if it would
Speaker 13: have been three minutes or thirty seconds, it happened, and
Speaker 13: the harm was done, and I was done to a
Speaker 13: kid that's been through a lot. And I am ashamed
Speaker 13: that the president allowed something like this because he has
Speaker 13: a family.
Speaker 1: Even in Cuba. The raid cost Shark. Here is her
Speaker 1: red Gardiners, the journalists who lived in Cuba at the time.
Speaker 14: I also remember the people in the streets, and I
Speaker 14: was wondering myself, as a teenage Cuban, why the FBI
Speaker 14: is fighting there its own people. Doesn't all America think
Speaker 14: the same way?
Speaker 1: It wasn't the FBI that removed Ilian from the home,
Speaker 1: by the way, but the point stood. Even Cubans in
Speaker 1: Cuba were surprised by the US government. The raid was
Speaker 1: an unusual moment for Cuba and the United States. For
Speaker 1: once Havana and Washington agreed on something. The US had done,
Speaker 1: something that aligned with the interests of the Kuban government.
Speaker 1: The US had acted against Cuban exiles on American soil,
Speaker 1: a group that had long been welcomed and protected by
Speaker 1: the US government. But to six year old Elean on
Speaker 1: a helicopter with federal agents, those politics were irrelevant.
Speaker 5: I recall Elien being in the helicopter and gie, I mean,
Speaker 5: what six year old child wouldn't be overwhelmed being in
Speaker 5: a helicopter above a city like Miami, which is like glowing.
Speaker 1: It was twilight at this point, and Elian looked out
Speaker 1: the window over Miami, the city lights contrasting with the
Speaker 1: dark ocean waters.
Speaker 5: He was like kind of overwhelmed, not in fear, but
Speaker 5: just like in amazement.
Speaker 1: Jim and Elian flew to Homestead Air Force Space just
Speaker 1: outside of Miami. That's where a medical treeash unit evaluated
Speaker 1: Elian once he was cleared, Jim and Elian boarded a
Speaker 1: Leer jet to go to Andrews Air Force Space outside
Speaker 1: of Washington, d C, where Elian would finally be reunited
Speaker 1: with his father.
Speaker 5: We made small talk with him. We had some, you know,
Speaker 5: kid items that he could occupy himself with. It's a
Speaker 5: couple hours flight Andrews Air Force Base.
Speaker 1: Recently I read a New York Times article about this flight.
Speaker 1: The psychiatrist who was with Lean in the flight at
Speaker 1: one point could not remember the Spanish word for a stepmother,
Speaker 1: so he told Lean that he was going to see
Speaker 1: his papa and his mama. When Elean heard the word mama,
Speaker 1: his face changed, tension surfacing in his eyes, and then
Speaker 1: Elean sat there quietly. He didn't cry, just like he
Speaker 1: didn't cry when he was found alone at sea.
Speaker 5: He looked out the window the whole time.
Speaker 1: Here was Alean surviving another storm, and after that storm
Speaker 1: would come the server lining Elian would finally be with
Speaker 1: his dad.
Speaker 15: It was truly a sincere reunion, but they would still
Speaker 15: be stuck in the US as Alien's Miami relatives tried
Speaker 15: to get the Supreme Court underside.
Speaker 1: That's next week, Chess Peace the Lian Gonzales Story is
Speaker 1: a production of Utuda Studios in partnership with Iheartsmichael Tura
Speaker 1: podcast Network. This show is written and reported by me
Speaker 1: Pennilei Ramirez with Maria Garcia, Nicole Rothwell and Tasha Sandoba.
Speaker 1: Our editor is Maria Garcia, additional editing by Marlon Bishop
Speaker 1: or Senior producer is Nicole Rodwell. Our associate producers are
Speaker 1: Tasha Sandoval and Elisabeth Loental Torres. Sound designed by Jacob
Speaker 1: Rosati with help from Stephanie Levo, and our intern is
Speaker 1: Evelin Fajardo Alvarez. Our senior production manager is Jessica Elis,
Speaker 1: with production supports from Nancy Trujillo, Francis Poon and LOLIMR Marquez.
Speaker 1: Mixing by Stephanie Levo, Julia Caruso and j J Coruvin.
Speaker 1: Fat checking by Media Bautista. Scoring and musical creation by
Speaker 1: Jaco Rosati and Stephanie Levo and credits music from Los
Speaker 1: Aceros Or. Executive producers are Marlon Bishop and Maria Garcia.
Speaker 1: Legal review by Neil Rossini. Huturo Media was founded by Mariainojosa.
Speaker 1: For more podcasts, listen to the iHeartRadio app Apple podcasts
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite show. Ampeny Later, Mills,
Speaker 1: see you in the next episode. Now see youth episode.
Speaker 3: Yeah h