On This Day: Fight over Elian Gonzalez begins, possibly costing Gore the Presidency - Nov. 25, 1999
(edited from article)
"
Nov. 25, 1999 On Thanksgiving Day, 5-year-old Elián González was found holding on to an inner tube, adrift at sea, after seeing 10 other shipwrecked Cuban refugees, including his mother and her boyfriend, drown. But that was just the beginning of an international battle over whether he would remain in the United States or return to Cuba.
Elián’s biological father in Cuba, Juan Miguel González, soon claimed the boy’s mother had taken him illegally out of the country. He and the Cuban government demanded Elián’s return, but relatives in Miami fought to keep him in the United States, saying he would have a better life here. The boy and his family spent time in Cleveland Park, a neighborhood in the District [of Columbia], while they waited to see if the U.S. Supreme Court would hear his case. The court declined, leading to Elián’s return to Cuba. In 2010, the Cuban government released a photo of the boy, then 16, wearing a Young Communist uniform.
"
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/the-fight-over-elian-gonzalez-erupted-17-years-ago/2016/11/16/eb9bdb0a-9236-11e6-a6a3-d50061aa9fae_story.html
-------
(edited from Wikipedia)
"
[Cuban demand for repatriation]
The involvement of the Cuban Communist leader [Fidel Castro] in the case and the subsequent diplomatic note written to the U.S. Department of State emphasizing the father's demand for Elián's repatriation attracted international attention. This is because Elián had become a "symbol to many exiles" reminding them of the solidarity of the Cuban exile community and its privileged status with economic refugee criteria. He subsequently became the subject of a custody battle waged by his father, Miami relatives, and state officials from the U.S. and Cuba.
After protracted legal wrangling, and intervention by Attorney General Janet Reno, it was determined that Elián would be returned to his father's custody. He was seized from the home of his Miami relatives in a raid by the INS; a dramatic photo of an INS agent confronting a relative holding Elián during the raid went on to win the 2001 Pulitzer Prize.
[Reaction to seizure]
INS also stated in the days after the raid that they had identified as many as two dozen persons who were "prepared to thwart any government operation", some of whom had concealed weapons while others had criminal records.
Approximately 100 people protested against the raid as it took place, with some calling the INS agents "assassins". Then-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani described BORTAC agents involved in the seizure of Elian as "storm troopers" at least six times. Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association reacted with "strong disgust and dismay" to the Nazi imagery and demanded Giuliani's apology. Hillary Clinton, then running against Giuliani for the 2000 United States Senate election in New York, agreed with FLEOA in asking for an apology. Giuliani refused to apologize, although he stated his criticism was aimed at President Clinton and Attorney General Reno. He later withdrew from the race for unrelated reasons.
Public opinion about the INS raid on the Miami González's house was widely polarized. There were two major focuses in media coverage of the event: the raid and the family reunions. A Time magazine issue showed a photo of a joyful González being reunited with his father (the caption says "Papa! " ), while Newsweek ran an issue that focused on the raid, entitled "Seizing Elián".
Political ramifications
Commentators have suggested that the Elián González affair may have been a factor in voters' decisions in the 2000 United States presidential election, which was decided by the United States Supreme Court's Bush v. Gore decision halting the 2000 United States presidential election recount in Florida and awarding the state's 25 electoral votes to the Republican Party candidate George W. Bush.
The Gonzalez case is believed to have been a major factor in Bush's narrow lead in the state as the raid caused Cuban-Americans in Florida to strongly favor him over the Democratic Party nominee Al Gore. Polls in 2001 indicated that Bush captured 80 percent of the Florida Cuban-American vote in 2000, 50,000 votes more than the previous Republican nominee Bob Dole's 65 percent of the Florida Cuban-American vote in the 1996 United States presidential election.
Later, the 2020 HBO documentary 537 Votes argued that Bush may have achieved as high as 88 percent of the Florida Cuban-American vote. Gore's handling of the matter may have angered the predominantly Republican Cuban community over the boy's return to Cuba. Gore initially supported Republican legislation to give the boy and his father permanent residence status, but later supported the administration position. He was attacked by both sides in the dispute for his equivocal position.
"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eli%C3%A1n_Gonz%C3%A1lez
---------------------------------------------------------
On This Day: D.B. Cooper hijacks plane, leads to permanent security changes - Nov. 24, 1971
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016368766
On This Day: Anti-beer law limits doctors "prescribing" alcohol - Nov. 23, 1921
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016368734
On This Day: Crowds, later general strikes, force revote for different Ukrainian President - Nov. 22, 2004
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016368693
On This Day: Scientist Roemer presents finding that light travels at finite speed - Nov. 21, 1676
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016368629
On This Day: DOJ sues Ma Bell, leading to breakup of conglomerate - Nov. 20, 1974
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016368595
= new reply since forum marked as read
