Elian González, the 6-year-old Cuba who was snatched from his Miami relatives at gunpoint in 2000 to be returned to his father in Havana, is looking forward to returning to the U.S. Now 21, he said he wants to personally thank the people who helped him after he was miraculously found by fisherman hanging onto an innertube.
In a rare interview with him that aired Monday on ABC’s Good Morning America, González said he wants to spend time in the U.S. “to give my love to American people,” but also see a baseball game and visit art museums.
“For my family it has always been, we always have the desire to say to the American people, to say to each household our gratitude, appreciation and love that we have,” he told the ABC reporter. “Perhaps one day we could pay a visit to the United States. I could personally thank those people who helped us, who were there by our side. Because we’re so grateful for what they did.”
González is studying to become an engineer in Havana, where he lives with his father, his stepmother and three brothers.
He is also engaged to marry 22-year-old Ilianet Escaño.
According to the report, González said he disagrees with his mother’s decision to escape Fidel Castro’s regime on a boat that capsized and took her life and 10 others. He said his last memory of her is when she put him safely on a raft.
“I remember when I was put on the raft and my mom was covering me and I was raising my head, looking around,” he told the ABC reporter. “At some point I raised my head and I didn’t see her again, I was alone in the middle of the sea.”
The GMA interview is the first one he gives as an adult – previously he had spoken to the press 10 years ago, when he was 11.
To read the full story: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2015/05/18/elian-gonzalez-disagrees-with-his-late-mother-decision-to-bring-him-to-us/
