--- description: Ten years ago, a dramatic international incident came to a head when U.S. federal troops raided a Miami home. title: A Brief History of the Elian Gonzalez Saga image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) * [LightBox](/tag/time-section-lightbox/) # A Brief History of the Elian Gonzalez Saga by [TIME](/author/time/) Apr 21, 2010 4:00 AM CUT by [TIME](/author/time/) Apr 21, 2010 4:00 AM CUT Ten years ago, a dramatic international incident came to a head when U.S. federal troops raided a Miami home. ### A Miraculous Survival  On Thanksgiving Day 1999, 5-year old Cuban boy Elian Gonzalez is discovered floating in an inner tube by fishermen off the coast of Florida. Two days prior, a small boat carrying his mother, Elizabeth Brotons, and at least 10 others, capsized in the waters between Cuba and the United States. RHONA WISE / AFP / Getty Images ### Claimed  A day following his Nov. 25 rescue, Elian is transferred from a hospital into the care of his great uncle Lazaro Gonzalez and his cousin Maryslesis. On Nov. 27, Elian's biological father begins to demand the return of his son to Cuba, though Gonzalez makes the case that the boy would be better served in America. RHONA WISE / AFP / Getty Images ### Give Him Back  On Dec. 10, Elian's American relatives file an asylum request, hoping to keep the boy in Miami. Cubans are outraged. This sign, in the town of Malecon, reads "Return Elian to his Fatherland." On Jan. 5, the INS announces that Elian must be returned to Cuba by January 14\. Months of lobbying and legal battles on both sides ensue. In early April, Elian's father flies to America to make his case in person. Cuban-Americans in Miami's Little Havana begin to gather around Elian's house, to prevent any attempt to remove him from the city. Sven Creutzmann / Mambo photo / Getty Images ### The Raid  It's one of the most famous American photographs of the last decade. Early on April 22, 2000, federal agents storm the house. An armed agent stands in front of a freaked out Elian and one of the fisherman who had saved the boy five months prior. He is spirited out of the house and returned to the custody of his father, Juan Miguel. Reuters ### The Response  Anti-Castro Cuban Americans are not pleased at Elian's "kidnapping." Some take to the streets in Miami's Little Havana. Protests and demonstrations break out. This ragtag fire is set. Miami Herald / Getty Images ### The Return Home  It is more than two months before Elian, his father, and several other family members are finally able to return to Cuba. Various legal efforts are launched by American family members to try to keep him in the States. Even the Supreme Court briefly gets involved, refusing to hear a last-minute appeal to keep him in America. On June 28, Elian arrives back in Havana. LIBORIO NOVAL / AFP / Getty Images ### A Prop?  In subsequent years, Elian is seen alongside President Fidel Castro multiple times, such as in this picture of a 2005 May Day celebration. The claim that he is being used as nothing more than a propaganda tool is occasionally trotted out. ADALBERTO ROQUE / AFP / Getty Images ### Can’t Let Go  Back in Miami, the memories remain. One of Elian's great uncles is seen here in 2002 in the house where the small boy was grabbed. He stands in front of the closet seen in the iconic picture on the wall. Several of the home's rooms (including Elian's bedroom) are preserved as shrines to the event. Just off camera, the door that was kicked in by federal agents retain their holes from the raid. RHONA WISE / AFP / Getty Images ### All Grown Up  A decade later, the boy is almost a man. Elian is seen here in an April 2010 photo in attendance at a Young Communist Union meeting in Cuba. 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