Chess Piece: The Elián González Story
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Elián and his dad went back to Cuba in June 2000, just four months before the US Presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore. Miami Cubans, hurt and angered by President Bill Clinton’s handling of the Elián case, resolved to vote against the Democrats and for the Republicans in what was called el voto castigo — the punishment vote.
To understand the political influence of Cuban-Americans, the stakes, and lasting impact of this moment, producer Tasha Sandoval takes the mic. We meet Tasha’s grandmother, an 87-year-old Miami Cuban, and learn how her story as a first wave Cuban exile informs her perspective.
This season's cover art by Ranfis Suárez Ramos.
Thanks to These Archival Sources:
Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives
Original Material Appeared In:
ABC News
AP Archive
CBS News
CNN Evening News
C-SPAN
Democracy Now!
HBO's "537 Votes"
Museum of the Moving Image
National Archives
NBC Evening News
NBC News
PBS NewsHour
Retro Report
The New York Times
Voice of America
YouTube/Plopsmom
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In the aftermath of the raid, agents brought Elián to Washington D.C. where father and son would finally reunite. But Elián and his dad were stuck in the United States while the court case played out — and while Miami burned with rage at what many Cuban Americans saw as a deep betrayal by the federal government.
Peniley reflects on the power of reunions. As Elián was reunited with his father, his cousin Marisleysis was in despair. And in April 2000, Peniley had just turned 13 years old, still separated from her own father as a result of US and Cuban policies.
This season's cover art by Ranfis Suárez Ramos.
Thanks to These Archival Sources:
Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives
Original Material Appeared In:
ABC Evening News
AP Archive
Belly of The Beast
CNN Evening News
CNN's "Elián: The Remarkable Story of A Cuban Boy's Journey to America"
Cubadebate
C-SPAN
MSNBC
NPR's "All Things Considered"
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
As negotiations failed, the U.S. government had been carefully planning for the possibility of taking Elián by force. Then on Easter Weekend, the order came. Armed agents stormed the house in a pre-dawn raid, armed with tear gas and semi-automatic rifles. They smashed down the door of the Miami home where Elián's relatives were keeping him.
Donato Dalrymple, the man who had rescued Elián at sea, grabbed the boy and hid with him in a closet, but there was nowhere else to go. A news photographer caught the moment on camera, creating an image that would reverberate around the world — including in Cuba.
In this episode, we hear first hand accounts of the night of the raid, from the INS commander of the operation, a family lawyer who was inside the house that evening, and a Cuban exile activist who was outside the Little Havana home.
This season's cover art by Ranfis Suárez Ramos.
Thanks to These Archival Sources:
Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives
Original Material Appeared In:
CBS Evening News
C-SPAN
NBC 6 South Florida
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Throughout the ordeal, Elián's father always insisted he wanted the boy to return to Cuba. But many Cuban Americans speculated that Juan Miguel wasn't operating under free will — but rather under threat, and in the shadow of Fidel Castro.
As the Miami family refused to hand Elián over to his father, tensions boiled over and negotiations began. The Attorney General, lawyers and other negotiators tried to bring the two sides together. As Elián started to disappear from the public eye, authorities became increasingly worried about the boy's safety and well-being.
This season's cover art by Ranfis Suárez Ramos.
Thanks to These Archival Sources:
Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives
Original Material Appeared In:
7 News at 5pm
ABC Evening News
ABC Nightline
AP Archive
CBS Evening News
CNN
C-SPAN
Martí Noticias
NBC Evening News
Periódico Escambray
The Guardian
Univison
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
While authorities decided how to proceed, Elián stayed in Little Havana with his Miami relatives, including with his older cousin turned mother figure, Marisleysis. The Cuban American community in Miami rallied around the family, arguing that Elián would only be free in the U.S., and that sending him back to Cuba was sentencing him to a life under the Communist regime.
This idea was fueled by traditional exile ideology, a set of beliefs informed by the Cuban American experience. Peniley explores how the staunch ideology, often informed by trauma, animated Elián' s story. While in Cuba, the ideology of the revolution also colored Elián's journey. Peniley reflects on what it has been like for her to experience Cuba and Miami — two places with very strong belief systems. And she revisits how the INS finally decided who Elián should stay with.
This season's cover art by Ranfis Suárez Ramos.
Thanks to These Archival Sources:
Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives
Original Material Appeared In:
CNN's "Elián: The Remarkable Story of A Cuban Boy's Journey to America"
C-SPAN
Gabriel Iglesias' "How To Tell Latinos Apart"
Martí Noticias
Sony Pictures' "3:10 To Yuma"
YouTube/dvjmindsnare
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.