Elián González, a member of the National Assembly of People's Power and a symbol of the Cuban regime, visited Spain to participate in the XVIII State Meeting of Solidarity with Cuba, where he gave an interview to the Asturian newspaper El Comercio, in which he was unable to point out a single mistake of the Island's government when asked for self-criticism.
When the journalist directly asked him what the mistakes of the Cuban government are, he responded: "The reality is that it would be difficult for me to tell you. I wish I knew what needs to be done to get out of this situation."
The well-known "raft boy" added that what seem like internal policy mistakes "become errors when we are faced with an external brake," thus shifting all the responsibility for the Cuban crisis onto Washington's sanctions.
González stated that "Cuba is experiencing a triple siege like never before" and described it as "slanderous" and "the lowest" to deny that the Island is subjected to the U.S. embargo, which he attributed to the fuel shortage and the economic crisis faced by the Cuban people.
However, he avoided mentioning the 67 years of communist dictatorship, the regime's management, structural corruption, or military control of the economy as factors contributing to the country's collapse.
Regarding his own case, which as a child was at the center of one of the most intense diplomatic crises between Cuba and the United States, he admitted that "the Cuban exile community wanted to take my case as a trophy against Cuba" and that his father's family in Miami ended up being influenced by political factors.
He denied, however, having been used by the regime: "What they did was return me to my dad, and everything that has happened since is not because it has become politicized, but because it was my choice to do so."
Elián also acknowledged that Cuban emigration is a "natural phenomenon" and that in most cases it is driven by economic reasons, although it "ultimately becomes politicized."
Regarding a possible military intervention by Donald Trump in Cuba, González stated: "We fear an intervention due to the potential loss of life it could represent, but not from the perspective of taking it on. We are not afraid to consider the United States as an enemy."
González's pattern of statements aligns with his role as a propaganda figure for the regime. In October 2025, he blamed the United States for Cuba's problems during the Ninth Continental Encounter of Solidarity with Cuba in Mexico, where he also stated that the government "does not make major mistakes."
In May of this year, he defended Raúl Castro following the criminal accusation made by the United States Department of Justice regarding the downing of the Brothers to the Rescue planes in 1996, describing that accusation as a " fabrication" and stating that his first reaction was "mockery."
Elián works as an assistant director at AT Comercial Varadero, a company subordinate to the military-business conglomerate GAESA, and was elected as a deputy for the municipality of Cárdenas (Matanzas) in March 2023.
The visit to Gijón, Asturias, which extends until this Sunday, includes a lecture alongside Fidel Castro Smirnov, the grandson of Fidel Castro, titled "The Cuba to Come: Memory, Future of Peace, and Revolution," as well as the presentation of a collective book in commemoration of the centenary of the dictator's birth.
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