The Foreign Service Journal, June 2014

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2014 41 amphitheater: the Jose Marti Tribuna Abierta (open court), built to con- demn the United States for allegedly “stealing Cuba’s child.” Ironically, during the construction one of our Cuban guards found buried in the rubble a bronze plaque commemorating the dedication of the “Fourth of July Park.” We hung it on the outside wall of USINT facing the Tribuna Abierta, where a once- close friendship had dissolved into bitterness over the embargo, migration policy and Guantanamo Base. For their part, Cuban-Americans were equally adamant that right was on their side. Not only was Elian Gonzalez entitled to remain in America; Washington had no right to send him back. In their eyes, the boy couldn’t possibly be returned to that “prison island,” even if it was into the arms of a loving father, for he was an embodiment of themselves, their dreams and hopes. Even worse, his repatriation would be a victory for their nemesis, Fidel Castro. But in the end, Elian did return, giving Cubans a younger and more modern hero than bearded revolutionaries of the past and present. A Peaceful Resolution Pays Dividends Meanwhile, behind the scenes my staff and I worked quietly with Ricardo Alarcon and the head of the North American divi- sion of the Cuban Foreign Ministry, Dagoberto Rodriguez. With the White House’s blessing, we agreed on a strategy that would return Elian to Cuba. USINT personnel would visit his father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, to determine whether he had a strong bond with his son. If so, then Washington would uphold in state and federal courts the father’s right to be reunited with Elian. The Cubans remained suspicious and uneasy. Elian and the dysfunctional relatives with whom he was living were constantly in the public eye. As some members of Congress considered introducing legislation to make the boy an American citizen, Elian’s rather unpleasant grandmothers visited him in Miami. Throughout a process that took much longer than either capital anticipated, my job was to keep relations on an even keel. When Elian finally returned to Cuba in June 2000, Fidel Castro and his seldom-seen spouse, Dalia, joined Juan Miguel Gonzalez and his family in the front row of the Tribuna Abierta. They were there with most of the Cuban hierarchy to watch schoolchildren stage a production welcoming the boy home. From our office balcony, my staff and I also enjoyed the spec- tacle, but no one acknowledged our presence five stories above. We were such a close and trusted enemy that Cuba’s leadership sat below with- out ever imagining that we might pose a danger. In fact, our two coun- tries are not real enemies, though it serves the interests of some people to pretend we are. The Cuban-American community continues to seek retribution for Castro’s takeover more than a half-century ago, while Havana uses U.S. sanctions as a scape- goat for its multitude of homegrown ills. The professional relationship that we fostered with the Cubans during the Elian saga built good will. It may even have contributed to Fidel Castro’s decision to cooperate with the U.S. military at Camp X-Ray at Guantanamo Base. In early 2002, my bosses at State told me that we would begin imprisoning illegal combatants from the war in Afghanistan at Guantanamo Bay. I immediately informed Alarcon, who com- plained that it was clear that his government had no say in the matter. I replied that while that might be true, public objections would make many people think that Cubans were on the side of the terrorists who had perpetrated the tragic 9/11 attacks. Castro bought the argument. He not only refrained from criticizing our actions, but ordered the Cuban military to help us ensure that the base was secure from outside attack. They even turned over a portion of Cuban airspace to U.S. air controllers. Little Radios, Big Symbols In late 2000 my staff and I created an outreach program designed to empower the Cuban people and, particularly, the dissidents. We distributed hundreds of thousands of books and radios all over the island to libraries run by the Catholic Church, the Masons and independent journalists. We also invited dissi- dents into our homes so they could meet with other activists, as well as visiting members of Congress and journalists. The most important visitor was former President Jimmy Carter, who courageously endorsed Osvaldo Paya’s Project Varela (advocating democratic political reforms) in a speech at the University of Havana. Fidel Castro and the Cuban hierarchy sitting in the front row were dismayed when he recommended that they allow a vote to change the constitution, as Project Varela called for. Since so many Cubans had heard Carter’s words on radio and television, Fidel chose to counter them by organizing his own nationwide petition. He succeeded in making the Cuban Con- stitution immutable by ordering block committees to go door to Fidel Castro was not pleased with our outreach, to put it mildly; he hatedmy little radios.