For the documentary COVERING CUBA 4: The Rats Below, Delfin Gonzalez, Elian Gonzalez’s uncle, gave the following inside testimony about the much publicized and controversial case.

“(Elian’s father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez) was seriously threatened.  Immigration here (the U.S.) never gave him an opportunity.  The young man never had help from anybody.  We wanted to talk to him and the government of Cuba, in cahoots with the Clinton administration, didn’t allow him to talk to us.  So, he didn’t know.

“Here they were telling him that he cannot defect.  Janet Reno and Immigration were telling him the same thing.  The appointed lawyer (Greg Craig) was practically a warden.  What was that young man was going to do?!

“He didn’t know he could have run away and asked for asylum and that later on they would have to release his family (held hostage in Cuba), he didn’t know how to live in a democracy.  He didn’t make that decision because he didn’t have knowledge.

“I think if he had the opportunity to talk to us, he would have thought differently.

“After Elisabet (Elian’s mother) left with Elian, they (the family) phoned us from Cuba and said, ‘Elisabet left, pay attention if they get there so you can find out where they are and take care of them.’

“We investigated.  But my brother (Lazaro Gonzalez) and I told them on the phone that there was nothing to do but wait.  Until it was reported in the news that a boy was found and my brother identified him.

“Then Juan Miguel’s first words (on the phone) were, ‘well, take care of him over there until I get there.’

“Meanwhile the (Cuban) government saw the opportunity to create an incident got in the way and got Juan Miguel.  So Juan Miguel disappeared for three days, he wasn’t talking, no calls and inquires about the boy.

“I suppose that he was detained by State Security agents over there (Cuba) who warned and threatened him.

“He had to surrender to the whims of the dictator, so he began to play the game, he was afraid for his life because that government kills--it’s known that that government kills, that there is neither reason, or motif, or law, or justice and they kill you.

“So he wanted to save his life and aligned with the government, perhaps reasoning, ‘If my son is here (Cuba) he is alive, if I oppose all this, perhaps they will kill him over there (the U.S.) and they will kill me and all my family (in Cuba).’  God only knows what was inside his head.

“Everybody blames him, but you have to be inside his shoes to know and you will understand more if you know, that that government kills.

“After Elian left (our home) we never have been able to talk to him.  While Juan Miguel was in the U.S., after Elian was taken, we talked several times, but the poor man had to say what (Cuban) State Security were telling him.  They were taping everything.

“The (Cuban) government intensions are to brainwash Elian so he forgets that he was free.  (The government) gave Juan Miguel a secluded house--they are the expropriated houses in Cardenas taken from people who went into exile.  It’s located in Cardenas’ outskirts in a neighborhood called ‘The Fort.’  Like if you were taken the Central Hwy.  Toward the town of Coliseo.

“The house is guarded by a guard in the front and another in the back.  Nobody can walk in front of the house, you have to cross the street and use the opposite sidewalk.  Nobody can stop there or look at what is happening inside the house.

“(The government) gave him a car with two policeman inside.  They determine who he talks to and sees, where he stops and where he goes.  They tell Juan Miguel that they are his bodyguards to protect him, but that’s not so--they are there so he cannot move.  To have him under surveillance day and night.

“Juan Miguel’s only privacy now, is when he is sleeping in bed with his wife.

“In Juan Miguel’s house there is a phone, controlled by the government.  A private phone.  Apparently it’s for them to be in touch with Juan Miguel.  But overseas calls, or even calls from Cuba, don’t go through.

“As I understand it, the relatives in Cuba have to ask for (government) permission to see (Elian).  They have to be clear what they are going to talk about and the topics.  Even his own relatives, aunts, cousins.”

Delfin Gonzalez’ testimony along with David Hoech, Dennis K. Hays, James B. Lieber, Jim Guirard, Larry Klayman, Myles Kantor and the late Reed Irvine are featured in COVERING CUBA 4: The Rats Below.  The Dade Community College at the Tower Theater in Miami, on Saturday, January 21 at 8 p.m., sponsors this world premiere presentation. 

COVERING CUBA 4: The Rats Below available through www.CubaCollectibles.com

also available COVERING CUBA 3: Elian the real story of injustice and deception by the U.S. government and the American media, COVERING CUBA 2: The Next Generation is a tool to bypass the wall of censorship of the U.S. media that prevents the average American citizen from learning and understanding why Cuban Americans act the way they do in their quest for freedom and democracy for their homeland and CUBA: The Pearl of the Antilles is a nostalgic visual and musical memory dating from pre-Columbian times to January 1, 1959.  There is no narration to distract from the visuals or the music, just a few subtitles indicating the year and the places throughout the six original Cuban provinces.  This enchanting documentary features 26 glorious melodies by the great Cuban composers performed by Cuban artists.

 © ABIP 2006