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CNN Sunday Morning

Deportation of Elian Gonzalez Remains Contentious

Aired April 22, 2001 - 08:25   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, do you remember, little Elian Gonzalez? For months his plight dominated the news before he was taken into custody by force and returned to Cuba. That was one year ago and many people in Miami are marking the anniversary with a vigil.

CNN's Susan Candiotti offers a look back.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the first anniversary of a hair raising raid, Miami's Cuban exiles return to the scene of what some consider a crime.

Elian Gonzalez's great uncle, Lazaro, often spends time here even though the family moved away last year. He showed us the room and now famous closet where Elian was seized before federal agents returned him to his father.

"I remember his words just before they came to take the boy," says Lazaro Gonzalez, "How he would tell me, "Uncle, why are they taking me if I don't want to leave?" Within hours of the raid, a smiling Elian was photographed, reunited with his father in Washington.

(on camera): Eventually, the family intends to turn its former home into a museum. On the outside, nothing much has changed since the day Elian left. And in south Florida, division over the boy hasn't changed much either.

(voice-over): They're incenses whenever they see the boy photographed in Cuba and when they see Elian's father standing next to Cuban President Fidel Castro.

"Fidel Castro has run out of trophies," Gonzalez says, "His new trophy is Elian Gonzalez."

"Nonsense," say other exiles.

ELENA FREYRE, CUBAN AMERICAN DEFENSE LEAGUE: Elian has had maybe three public appearances since he went back to Cuba and the fact that when he was here, his public appearances were around the clock public appearances. It seems to be a question of the pot calling the kettle black.

CANDIOTTI: Exiles who felt betrayed, observers say, got their payback at the ballot box.

ARMANDO GUTIERREZ, FORMER FAMILY SPOKESMAN: They voted for Bush but mainly because they were very upset at the Clinton/Gore administration.

CANDIOTTI: Angry public debate ended long ago but still simmers beneath the surface.

PROF. DARIO MORENO, UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI: Once the media attention disappears and the public relation problem is solved, we move on. And the underlining issues remain.

CANDIOTTI: Life in America for a boy who lost his mother at sea or a life in Cuba where his surviving father says he's back where he belongs.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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