At the Episcopal Cathedral of Vedado neighborhood, the Cuban head of state, along with religious authorities, was present at the ceremony to commemorate the return to his homeland of the minor that was illegally held in Florida by relatives allied with Cuban-American extreme right-wing groups against the will of his father.

Also attending the ceremony were, among others, Esteban Lazo, Vice-president of the Council of State; Cuban Parliament President Ricardo Alarcon; Reverend Raul Suarez, director of the Martin Luther King Jr.

Memorial Center; Elian Gonzalez; Juan Miguel Gonzalez (Elian’s father); and relatives of five Cuban antiterrorists who remain unjustly imprisoned in the United States since 1998 —internationally known as the Cuban Five.

During the event, organized by the Council of Churches of Cuba (CCC), Alarcon spoke of the political battle carried out by the Cuban people under the direction of Fidel Castro to have Elian reunited with his father and relatives in Cuba.

The president of the Cuban Parliament highlighted the support of the CCC, the American people and US religious authorities, in particular, Rev. Joan Campbell, from the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States.

 
He added that when Elian was being held in Miami, the Cuban Five —Gerardo Hernandez, Rene Gonzalez, Antonio Guerrero, Ramon Labañino and Fernando Gonzalez— were already unjustly imprisoned for fighting terrorism.

“We won the battle for Elian’s return to Cuba because the American people were able to know the truth. We have not succeeded in the case of the Five because they have not been allowed to know it,” he noted.

Also speaking in the ceremony was Griselda Delgado del Carpio, Coadjutant Bishop, who praised Cuba’s work in favor of children and youths.

“A society like this that, in spite of its economic problems, gives priority to the education and health care of its children and youths, is a just society inspired by love,” she noted.

Born on December 6, 1993, Elian Gonzalez was taken to a sea adventure to Florida that ended in a shipwreck, as a result of which the remaining participants died and only the then six-year old boy survived. He was rescued by fishermen on the high seas and taken to Miami.