Elián González Brotons, a deputy to the National Assembly of People's Power for the municipality of Cárdenas, spoke this Wednesday at an Antiimperialist Open Forum held in Matanzas to defend Army General Raúl Castro, following the criminal charges filed on May 20 by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The event is part of a series of mobilizations called by the regime from May 23 to June 3—Raúl's 95th birthday—in response to the federal charges related to the downing of two aircraft from Brothers to the Rescue on February 24, 1996.
In his speech, Elián said that the former Cuban leader "has every right, just as his brother did, to demand any sacrifice," and urged that the "empire" should not interfere with the "heroes" and "idols" of Cuba.
"With our heroes, with our idols, they cannot mess," declared to the attendees waving Cuban flags at the event.
He also described the U.S. accusation as a mere "fabrication" and stated that the news did not disturb him at all: "I was not alarmed, I took it with complete calm, and the first thing that came to my mind was a joke."
In a direct message to the United States government, he was emphatic: "We support and defend him, to make it clear to the empire that they cannot interfere with our idols, with our symbols. They have no business here."
Elián González's involvement carries a particular symbolic weight: he himself was the protagonist of one of the most intense diplomatic battles between Cuba and the United States when, at the age of five, he was rescued at sea after the ship his mother was attempting to illegally bring him to American soil on sank in November 1999.
After an intense custody battle, he returned to Cuba on June 28, 2000, with his father Juan Miguel González, in a process that the regime turned into a symbol of anti-imperialist resistance. He was nominated as a deputy for Cárdenas in February 2023.
The event in Matanzas featured representatives from political and mass organizations, labor sectors, and citizens of the province.
The mobilizations are taking place as Cuba faces a severe crisis amid the call for public forums, with daily blackouts exceeding 20 hours and a record electricity deficit that surpassed 2,000 MW in mid-May.
The accusation against Raúl Castro, approved by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida on April 23 and declassified on May 20 by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche at the Freedom Tower in Miami, mainly carries symbolic significance, as there is no extradition treaty between Cuba and the United States and the former leader has not set foot on U.S. soil.
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