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HAVANA — President Raul Castro and Communist Party leaders have joined Elian Gonzalez in celebrating the 10-year anniversary of his dramatic return to Cuba after a political tug-of-war with the United States.
Gonzalez, now 16 and a Communist Party member, sat alongside his father Juan Miguel at a church service here Wednesday that marked the event, and thanked "everyone who made (his return) possible."
As a six-year-old boy, Gonzalez was plucked from the sea off Florida's coast in November 1999 after an overcrowded motorboat capsized en route from Cuba, killing his mother and 10 others seeking to enter the United States illegally.
Heavily-armed US agents broke into the Miami home of Gonzalez's uncle on June 30, 2000, after then-US attorney-general Janet Reno ordered the boy to be returned to his father in communist-run Cuba.
Claiming he bore "no grudge" for his relatives in Florida who fought to keep him in the United States, Gonzalez said: "Today I'm with my father and I feel happy here."
Because of the "strength this country gave me, I am almost a man, and I can walk the streets in peace."
His father said Gonzalez was doing well and that his "good results at school are a sign that what we did was not in vain."
Elian's return to Cuba was a huge boon to then-leader Fidel Castro, Raul's elder brother, as illegal emigration is an embarrassing everyday reality in the only one-party communist state in the Americas.
Two US senators expressed optimism Thursday that the US Congress would lift travel restrictions on Cuba -- a move that could move the two countries past decades of immigration anguish that regularly tears families apart.
Democrat Byron Dorgan and Republican Mike Enzi, the main Senate supporters of the bill that moved Wednesday through a key House committee, said they would have the votes needed for passage ahead of November mid-term elections.
The bill would end the effective travel ban for US nationals; allow communist Cuba to use credit for purchases of US farm goods currently paid for only in cash; and allow direct transfers between US and Cuban financial institutions.
It must make its way through additional commissions before a potential House vote, even before it reaches the Senate.
The United States has had an economic embargo clamped on Havana for nearly five decades.
Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2010 AFP. AFP text, photos, graphics and logos shall not be used for commercial purposes, reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP shall not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP content, or for any actions taken in consequence. AFP materials may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer except for personal non-commercial use. As a newswire service AFP does not obtain release from the subjects, individuals, groups or entities contained in its photographs, graphics or quoted in its text. Further, no clearance is obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted material where the marks and material are included in AFP photos or content. You shall be solely responsible for obtaining any and all the necessary releases from whatever individual or entity is necessary for any of your uses of AFP material. You agree to indemnify AFP from any losses, damages and expenses (including reasonable attorney fees) it incurs as a result of any claim based on your use of its materials in violation of these terms.
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Gonzalez, now 16 and a Communist Party member, sat alongside his father Juan Miguel at a church service here Wednesday that marked the event, and thanked "everyone who made (his return) possible."
As a six-year-old boy, Gonzalez was plucked from the sea off Florida's coast in November 1999 after an overcrowded motorboat capsized en route from Cuba, killing his mother and 10 others seeking to enter the United States illegally.
Heavily-armed US agents broke into the Miami home of Gonzalez's uncle on June 30, 2000, after then-US attorney-general Janet Reno ordered the boy to be returned to his father in communist-run Cuba.
Claiming he bore "no grudge" for his relatives in Florida who fought to keep him in the United States, Gonzalez said: "Today I'm with my father and I feel happy here."
Because of the "strength this country gave me, I am almost a man, and I can walk the streets in peace."
His father said Gonzalez was doing well and that his "good results at school are a sign that what we did was not in vain."
Elian's return to Cuba was a huge boon to then-leader Fidel Castro, Raul's elder brother, as illegal emigration is an embarrassing everyday reality in the only one-party communist state in the Americas.
Two US senators expressed optimism Thursday that the US Congress would lift travel restrictions on Cuba -- a move that could move the two countries past decades of immigration anguish that regularly tears families apart.
Democrat Byron Dorgan and Republican Mike Enzi, the main Senate supporters of the bill that moved Wednesday through a key House committee, said they would have the votes needed for passage ahead of November mid-term elections.
The bill would end the effective travel ban for US nationals; allow communist Cuba to use credit for purchases of US farm goods currently paid for only in cash; and allow direct transfers between US and Cuban financial institutions.
It must make its way through additional commissions before a potential House vote, even before it reaches the Senate.
The United States has had an economic embargo clamped on Havana for nearly five decades.
Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2010 AFP. AFP text, photos, graphics and logos shall not be used for commercial purposes, reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP shall not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP content, or for any actions taken in consequence. AFP materials may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer except for personal non-commercial use. As a newswire service AFP does not obtain release from the subjects, individuals, groups or entities contained in its photographs, graphics or quoted in its text. Further, no clearance is obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted material where the marks and material are included in AFP photos or content. You shall be solely responsible for obtaining any and all the necessary releases from whatever individual or entity is necessary for any of your uses of AFP material. You agree to indemnify AFP from any losses, damages and expenses (including reasonable attorney fees) it incurs as a result of any claim based on your use of its materials in violation of these terms.
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