April 22nd, 2000: It was an early Sunday morning twelve years ago today when I was awakened by a phone call. On the other line was my sobbing sister telling me to turn on the television, that they had taken Elian. I ran downstairs, put on the news, and the first image I saw was the photograph above: A horrified Elian Gonzalez staring down the barrel of an assault rifle held by a terrifying masked man who had just violently burst into his bedroom in the predawn darkness.
A few minutes later, my daughter, who was about the same age as Elian at the time, awoke and came down to join me on the couch. She climbed up on my lap and I gave her a kiss, holding her close to me as I held back the tears. Moments later, when her grogginess dissipated, she glanced at the television and the image of Elian with a gun pointed at him reappeared on the screen. I wanted to cover her eyes, distract her from this horrible atrocity that no person, much less a child, should ever have to lay eyes upon, especially Elian. But I was too late. She looked at the image and then looked back at me with fear in her eyes.
“Papi, why is that man pointing a gun at Elian?” she asked.
I could not answer her question, at least not in terms she could understand. How do you explain to a six year old that the president of the United States has just broken the law and authorized a violent raid on a family’s home with armed men in order to kidnap a small boy and appease a brutal dictator? How can a small child understand that they are perhaps witnessing one of the most abhorrent acts in modern history carried out by a U.S. president? How can my daughter, or Elian, understand that the long arm of the vile Castro dictatorship can reach into the freest nation in the world and carry out the same type of violent raids that take place in Cuba? They cannot. And the truth is that neither can many adults, including myself, understand.
The image above has been seared into my mind ever since that fateful morning. So one can only imagine how that morning must replay itself in Elian’s mind. How he must see the barrel of that gun in his dreams, the eyes of a soldier staring at him, ready to end his life with the simple squeeze of a trigger. Nevertheless, the images of that morning, if they indeed haunt his dreams, are no doubt a reprieve from the memories of watching his mother drown in the Florida Straits. The image of a soldier pointing a loaded assault rifle at his face is sadly preferable to the image of his mother disappearing beneath the waves for the last time, never to be seen again.
Elian’s mother, Elizabeth Brotons, risked it all and ultimately gave her life so her young son could grow up in freedom. But her sacrifice, her life, her death, were not enough for President Clinton. Instead, he and Attorney General Janet Reno decided that appeasing a ruthless and murdering dictator was worth more than the life of Elizabeth, and certainly worth more than Elian’s freedom.
Twelve years ago, a despotic dictatorship from an island in the Caribbean showed the world just how much power it can wield. With little to no economic influence and no military might whatsoever, the Castro dictatorship was able to exert enough pressure on the U.S. government to induce it to not only break its own laws, but also deprive a young boy the right to grow up to be a free man, not a slave of a vile and criminal regime. From ninety miles away, a tinpot dictator manipulated and forced the leader of the most powerful nation in the world to forsake the country’s own principles and condemn a boy to life on an island prison. This is something to keep in mind the next time someone tells you they do not understand why we should pay so much attention to Cuba.
Even after twelve years, we still weep for Elian. The pain is still there, the wound is still raw. Every day we remember Elian in one way or another, and every day a tear somewhere is shed for the injustice he and his mother were forced to suffer. And speaking of his mother, twelve years later, I am sure she is still weeping for him from heaven.
It’s been quite clear for some time that what Cuban exiles tirelessly warned would happen to Elián if he was returned to Cuba is pretty much exactly what happened. Castro, Inc. broke its promise (surprise!) that he would not be turned into a political trophy, and turned him into an excruciatingly indoctrinated pro-Castro robot-zombie, trotted out like a trained monkey whenever it suits the regime, to say or do whatever the regime wants. I have yet to hear a single word of concern or regret, let alone remorse or apology, from anyone who actively promoted or enabled his return. It’s as if the matter effectively ceased to exist once he was sent back to Cuba. In other words, mission accomplished; on to the next thing. There were many, many enablers, all of whom have my undying contempt, but the ultimate responsibility rests with one Bill Clinton (whose performance was also dubious, to put it kindly, regarding the murder of the four Brothers to the Rescue pilots). But of course, I’m just, you know, hysterical. Everyone knows “those people” had it coming. Damn uppity Chihuahuas.
Shameful! Everyone that participated got a promotion out of it. I can only hope their lives have been as full of misery as that which they caused.
Wasn’t the storm-trooper pointing the gun arrested not too long ago for engaging in some form of child pornography? I remember reading some news item somewhere about this.
Lovely bunch of people. By the way, is that hideous old, dyke, Reno, still alive?
Reno, detestable though she was, was Clinton’s creature and behaved accordingly. She simply danced with, or for, the one that brung her. She was a despicable tool, but still a tool, so I never focused that much on her. Holder is no different now with Obama and the Fast & Furious business, among other issues. The Elián mess had plenty of culprits, but the outcome was and remains ultimately Clinton’s responsibility. His smiling “charm” relative to Reno’s painfully distasteful persona made him seem even more vile. I suppose the debacle wound up sparing the country an Al Gore presidency, which is something, maybe a lot, but I will never forgive those who had a hand in sending an innocent child to a totalitarian prison to be brainwashed with a perverse and malignant ideology, especially since they’ve shown absolutely no sign of repentance.
Asombra,
You’re absolutely right. The fault lies ultimately on Clinton’s shoulders, the vile S.O.B. How I used to hate that cynical half-smile and the gleem in those steely eyes. He was infinitely worst than Reno, Holder, Doris Messinger or the stormtroppers that carried out the actual raid. I put him on par with the National Council of Churches, because like them, he hid behind a veneer of concern.
What we predicted has happened to the letter. Elian is an indoctrinated, brainwashed and damaged trophy boy. I pity him. I remember reading somewhere where he was supposed to give a small speech before an audience and he was totally incapable of doing so. They had to remove him from the stage like a handicapped boy. You see pictures of him every now and then, but he is so closely guarded that you never hear him talking.
Of course, as you point out, the culprits never say a word about what has happened. Why should they be concerned if the child has been brainwashed by electroshock or whatever other crude methods the regime has used, they did what they were supposed to do and got away with it. He looks like a husk of a boy. They have done their deed and care not. To them, it’s a MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.
Ray, the methods need not have been crude. The point is he got the Super Deluxe, top-of-the-line indoctrination and brainwashing treatment–the regime put its best people and most effective techniques on the job. So much had been invested in getting him back that he HAD to turn out “right.” No effort was spared. And yes, his mind, his psyche, has been damaged, probably irreparably. He’s a kind of automaton. At best, he’s completely controlled by his handlers and ruled by fear, always under surveillance, and he cannot possibly have anything resembling a normal life. He absolutely belongs to the regime, and free choice for him is out of the question unless he chooses “correctly.” If that’s what his father wanted for him, his father is guilty of very serious child abuse and is an unfit parent. A great injustice, a heinous CRIME was committed with Elián. I don’t care what the “humanitarians” here may have thought or intended; they were wrong, and they refused to hear those who knew and told the truth. I hold them all in contempt, and their continued silence speaks very loudly indeed.