Elian Gonzalez Is All Grown Up, and He's Mad

Remember Elian Gonzalez? Well, he's not the little boy the US sent back to Cuba anymore. Gonzalez turned 20 last week, and he isn't happy with his almost-home. In an interview with CNN yesterday, Gonzalez said he blamed the US for the death of his mother, who drowned along with nine other people en route to Florida 14 years ago. "Just like her, many others have died attempting to go to the United States," Gonzalez said. "But it's the US government's fault. Their unjust embargo provokes an internal and critical economic situation in Cuba."

Gonzalez is in Ecuador for the World Festival of Youths and Students, which he's been asked to speak at. "The main reason we're here is because we want a revolutionary progressive movement that leads to socialism," he says. And no, he's not upset the US sent him back; he describes Cuban life as "magnificent," and says being dragged from his relatives' home at gunpoint left no mental scars. "It has not affected me psychologically, but it has been hard for my family. Those were tough times." (More Elian Gonzalez stories.)