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So here's what happened to Elián González:
In April 2000, US FBI agents stormed into the house where Elián had been staying, grabbed him, and ran out. The whole thing was a bit startling for Elián. Then, after seven months of discussions and protests and court hearings, the US government said that Elián could not apply to stay in the US - since he was six years old, only his father, Juan Miguel González, could make that decision. And his father wanted him to come home to Cuba, so he did. In June, Elián moved back to Cardenás to live with his dad and his new family.
Meanwhile, then- US President Clinton took a few steps to make relations a little friendlier between the two countries. He made it easier for Cuban Americans to send some money back to their families, and for US groups to donate food and medicine to Cuban groups that did not work for the Cuban government. He also allowed some direct plane flights from the US to Cuba for people who are legally allowed to visit - like journalists and church and study groups.
But then when President Bush took over, he wasn't feeling so friendly and he reversed
some of that. He stepped up enforcement of the ban on trading between the two countries. And he ordered a crackdown on tourists from the US, because the US government figures that if you're a tourist in Cuba, you'll buy stuff when you're there, and that's trade, so technically, it's illegal.
