Analysis: Elian case works for Castro

Elian provoked strong passions among Cuban Americans in Miami

By Jane Hughes in Washington

Elian Gonzalez has single-handedly done more to stimulate debate over relations between Havana and Washington than any other person or event has done for years.

The four-decade-old trade embargo imposed by Washington when Fidel Castro came to power had gradually been easing.

In February, American companies held a trade fair in Havana, the first such event for 40 years.

In the last couple of years, it has become possible to take direct flights from Miami and New York to Havana, and an American baseball team played in Cuba last year.

But one of the big obstacles to a broader thawing of relations had always been the hard-line anti-Castro Cuban American community in Miami.

Weakened influence

Elian Gonzalez's arrival in Florida and the community's determination to keep him in the United States has ultimately served to weaken their influence.

Publicity gift for Castro

It has acted as a publicity gift for Fidel Castro, who has sought to use the case to isolate the community from Washington, as well as to bolster patriotism in Cuba.

And as the saga has gone on, more and more Americans have come to the conclusion that the best place for Elian is with his father, even if that does mean his going back to communist Cuba.

That has left the Cuban American community in so-called Little Havana looking as if it has lost its clout.

Some Cuban exiles have been emboldened to speak out against the hard line taken by their leaders in Miami for the first time.

At the moment, the biggest winner in the Elian Gonzalez saga looks as if it may be Fidel Castro.