Twenty-five years ago, the amazing rescue of a young boy at sea would lead to a fierce custody battle that mirrored the decades-long tensions between the United States and Cuba.
A gripping new podcast, “Chess Piece: The Elian Gonzalez Story,” follows the journey of 5-year-old Elian, who was found alone floating on an inner tube. His mother died after the boat filled with Cuban migrants that they were on capsized. Elian survived, only to find himself in the eye of a geopolitical storm (and globe-spanning media frenzy) as his great-uncle in Miami fought to keep him in the United States and his father sought his return to Cuba.
“Chess Piece” offers a sensitive, revealing look at an incident that symbolized the pain of family separations and that always was more complex than the opposing sides painted it. It will revive your memories of what happened and illuminate aspects you never knew or thought about.
The 10-part series — new episodes arrive Wednesdays — is from Futuro Studios (which won a Pulitzer in 2022 for the podcast “Suave”) and iHeartMedia’s My Cultura Podcast Network. It's hosted by investigative journalist Peniley Ramirez.
Ramirez spoke to the Free Press recently via email about “Chess Piece” and her decision to include her own experiences as a girl in Cuba whose father defected to America.
QUESTION: What motivated you to do a podcast on the events surrounding Elian Gonzalez?
ANSWER: I am a big fan of the nuanced and deep reporting that every Futuro Studios podcast has had so far. So when Maria Garcia and Marlon Bishop asked me to host the Elian Gonzalez story, I accepted immediately. I knew it would be an opportunity to go deep on a story widely reported back in 1999 and 2000 but from a black-and-white perspective.
Q: Was it something you had wanted to do for a long time?
A: I have wanted to report on critical issues related to Cuba for many years. In mainstream media, there is a lack of coverage about how Cubans living in Cuba feel, how the day-to-day life on the island happens and, most importantly, what are the family and emotional consequences for Cubans of having the same type of autocratic government for over six decades. At the same time, this podcast is an opportunity to report about the Cuban American community, our challenges, and emotional battles. I am happy that we had the chance to touch on these significant issues as part of this podcast.
Q: You weave the story of your separation from your father, who left Cuba for a life in Florida, into Elian’s story. Was that difficult personally and what do you hope listeners take away from it?
A: I am an investigative journalist, so I have been reporting on hard issues like corruption, financial crimes and narcotics for most of my career. I am very private with my personal life, so this project has been a considerable challenge, as it is the first time I get into my feelings and emotions to communicate a story in a deeper and more meaningful way. This is also the first time I discussed with my father our family separation. I decided to do it because I genuinely believe that my story is also the story of millions of Cubans who have been dealing with the emotional consequences of family separation. This podcast goes beyond the story of Elian and speaks to those many Cubans who, even today, are dealing with family separation.
Q: Has the media changed in the intervening years in your opinion, or would this story be covered much the same way in 2024?
A: I think Elian's story would be even more viral today, as more people outside of traditional journalists are creating content and reaching out to big audiences. We are living in the opinion-first era. Today, journalists have even harder work when covering controversial issues, as finding a nuanced middle ground is often not as popular as spreading heavily editorialized pieces of information, often mixed with unverified facts or plain lies. Our work is harder today but even more important, as our audiences need and deserve fact-checked reliable information more than ever.
Q: In 1999, there was wide support in the United States for Elian staying here and not returning to his father. In 2024, Donald Trump is proposing mass deportation of immigrants as a presidential campaign issue. Do you think this reflects how the country’s attitudes have changed or that both examples reflect how often immigrants are used for political purposes?
A: I think even in 1999, Elian was a very particular case, not reflective of the overall situation of migrants and unaccompanied children in the U.S. Back then, the Cuban American community in Miami took Elian's case as a cause to beat Fidel Castro and as a way to communicate to the world why so many Cubans left the island, even at the risk of dying in the Florida straits.Back then, Cubans benefited from the "dry foot, wet foot rule," which allowed them to have legal status in the U.S. just by touching U.S. soil. Now, many Cubans cross the desert or enter the U.S. undocumented. Despite this situation, which puts Cubans in the same risky situations as many other immigrants from all over the world, we still see massive support for Donald Trump among the Cuban American community, especially in Miami.So yes, immigrants are often used for political purposes, and Cuban immigrants, in particular, are still in the crossfire between Havana and Miami and also between Republicans and Democrats.
"Chess Piece: The Elian Gonzalez Story" is available on Apple and Spotify and at the Futuro Studios and iHeart websites.
Contact Detroit Free Press pop culture critic Julie Hinds at jhinds@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 'Chess Piece' podcast goes deep inside the Elian Gonzalez story on its 25th anniversary
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