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Elián González, the so-called "raft boy" who today serves as a deputy in the National Assembly of People's Power in Cuba, denied in an interview with the Asturian newspaper El Comercio that he had been politically used by the Cuban regime, although he could not— or did not want to—point out a single mistake of the island's government when asked for self-criticism.
González is in Gijón to participate in the XVIII National Meeting of Solidarity with Cuba, an event that brought together over 200 participants and 45 organizations.
It was there that the journalist asked him directly if, in addition to the Miami exile, he was also used by the Cuban government.
“No, I don’t feel that way. My father would never use me,” González responded, either deliberately or unintentionally confusing the question about the regime with a reference to his parent.
When the interviewer clarified that the question was directed at the Cuban government and not at his father, González sidestepped the issue: "What he did was return me to my dad, and everything that has happened since is not because it has been politicized, but because it was my will to do so."
He did admit, however, that he did use exile: "The Cuban exile community wanted to take my case as a trophy against Cuba," he stated.
When asked to reflect critically on the mistakes of the Cuban government, González was unable to mention a single one. "The truth is that it would be difficult for me to say that. I wish I knew what needs to be done to get out of this situation," he responded, placing all the blame for the crisis on the U.S. embargo.
The deputy stated that "Cuba is experiencing a triple siege like never before" and described as "the most defamatory, the lowest" the denial that the island is under the U.S. embargo, which he attributed to the scarcity of fuel and the economic crisis suffered by the Cuban people.
This stance is consistent with his previous statements. In October 2025, during the IX Continental Meeting of Solidarity with Cuba held in Mexico, González blamed the United States for all of Cuba's problems and claimed that the government "does not make major mistakes."
In May 2026, he defended Raúl Castro following the criminal charges filed by the U.S. Department of Justice regarding the downing of the Brothers to the Rescue planes in 1996, describing the allegations as a "fabrication."
Regarding a possible military intervention by the Trump administration in Cuba, González stated: "We fear an intervention because of what it could mean in terms of loss of life, but not from the standpoint of facing it. We do not fear taking on the United States as an enemy."
At the meeting in Gijón, González presented alongside Fidel Castro Smirnov, the grandson of the dictator Fidel Castro, under the title "The Cuba to Come: Memory, Future of Peace and Revolution."
The event is part of the activities commemorating the centenary of Fidel Castro's birth and the international propaganda agenda of the regime.
González, an industrial engineer and father of a girl, works as the assistant director of AT Comercial Varadero, a company subordinate to GAESA, the military-business conglomerate that controls a large part of the Cuban economy, and was elected deputy for the municipality of Cárdenas in March 2023.
He has stated on other occasions that his "greatest privilege" is being called "Fidel's boy."
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