The Gonzalez Case: Something Smells
There’s a lot more to the Elian Gonzalez Case than meets the eye. In fact, once the Clintons and Janet Reno are out of office, look for a revelation that Bill Clinton and Fidel Castro cut a super-secret deal in 1994 that will explain why the plight of one small Cuban refugee has become such a huge news story. Here’s the background:
In April of 1980, 10,000 Cubans stormed the Peruvian embassy in Havana seeking political asylum. This forced Castro to ease immigration restrictions. That launched the exodus of 125,000 refugees (the Marielitos) from the Port of Mariel to the United States.
An angry Castro ordered over 1,500 convicted murderers, rapists and other violent criminals released from prisons and placed into the Marielito refugee stream. The criminal Marielitos were so violent President Carter sent them to Fort Chaffee, Arkansas for internment. While at Fort Chaffee, the criminal Marielitos rioted. Arkansas Governor, Bill Clinton, was blamed for botching the restoration of law and order in the refugee camp.
In November, 1980, Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton lost his reelection bid. Clinton blamed his loss on the Marielito riots. Burned by Castro once, the Clinton foreign policy toward Cuba is to do everything possible to avoid another massive influx of Cuban refugees. Moreover, business interests close the Clintons (campaign contributors) want free trade with Cuba because they see a mass market that has been starved for consumer goods for 40 years.
Gregory Craig, Clinton’s lawyer during the Monicagate impeachment process, is a law school classmate of both Bill and Hillary. Mr. Craig made many trips to Havana over the years, presumably on legal business. But one might suspect Mr. Craig acted as Clinton’s secret, personal emissary to Fidel Castro during one or more of his Cuban trips. Anyway, something happened that led to Clinton’s 1994 executive order changing the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966.
Under the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966, if Cuban refugees could reach American territorial waters by any means, they could seek political asylum. In 1994, Clinton issued an executive order saying the refugees actually had to get their feet on U.S. soil before they could claim asylum. Since 1994, federal agencies have been interdicting Cuban refugees while they are still on the water and forcing them back to Cuba or other countries. Obviously, this is done to appease Fidel Castro.
Leaving Castro and Clinton for now, here are some interesting facts about the Gonzalez Case:
According to Sprint telephone records, a call from Elian’s paternal grandparents was made to Elian’s Miami relatives four days prior to the escape attempt of Elian and his mother. The purpose of the call was make sure the Miami relatives were prepared to receive and care for the mother and boy. The call indicates Elian’s father was aware of the escape attempt and approved of it.
Again, according to telephone records, when little Elian was rescued from the water, Elian’s Miami relatives called Juan Miguel Gonzalez and told him that Elian was safe but his ex-wife had drowned. Juan Miguel expressed relief that his son was safe and urged the Miami relatives to take good care of his son. The Miami relatives thought that was the end of the story. If Fidel Castro had not interfered, it would have been the end of the story.
Now, a Castro spokesman says that Elian is “a possession of the state.” The spokesman is correct. Article 38, Clause C of the Cuban Constitution says parental rights exist “only as long as their influence does not go against the objectives of the state.” Also, at age 10, Elian must begin years of communist indoctrination camps where he will learn how to fire the AK-47 assault rifle, attack bridges, lay mines, throw hand grenades and kill sentries. Now, isn’t that better than trips to Disney World with his Miami relatives?
William Hamilton is a syndicated columnist and featured commentator for USA Today.
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