Elián González, the Cuban boy whose custody battle stoked Cold War-era tensions, has been nominated to serve in the island’s National Assembly, the communist-party daily Granma said Monday.
The newspaper referred to González, now 29, as “representing the most worthy of the Cuban youth.”
González’s nomination all but secures his post in the 470-seat National Assembly that meets several times a year to discuss proposed laws, which the body usually votes unanimously to approve.
A single candidate to the National Assembly, which then Cubans can either ratify or vote against.
Serving in the National Assembly would be the highest profile position for González since the agonizing custody battle between his father and relatives in Miami that led to the boy’s return to the communist-run island in 2000.
On Thanksgiving Day 1999, González, then six years old, shot to fame after he was rescued from the Florida straits.
His mother Elizabeth and nine other people who were taking part in the clandestine journey drowned after their rickety boat capsized in high seas while they tried to make their way from Cuba to the United States.
González’s survival seemed miraculous and distant relatives in Miami, supported by the anti-Castro exile community, vowed to keep him in the US.
Back in Cuba, Elián’s father, Juan Miguel, fought to bring the boy home. Cold War politics soon dominated the fight over his custody as Cuban leader Fidel Castro led massive demonstrations on the island demanding Elián’s return.
The case became a new flashpoint in the already boiling feud between supporters and opponents of Castro’s revolution.
González often said Castro was like a second father to him.
In a rare interview with CNN in 2017, González said he would like to reconcile with his relatives in Miami, but also made clear that he planned to continue vocally supporting the government that brought him home.
“Living here is a debt I owe to the Cuban people,” González said. “That’s who I will always work and fight for.”
