Who is Elián González and why is his story so significant to Cuban history and the 2000 U.S. presidential election?

iHeartRadio podcast Chess Piece: The Elián González Story zooms in on a "turn of the millennium" case that "hurt and angered" Miami Cubans, through first-person perspectives and in-depth summarizations. Per the podcast summary:

"A Five-year-old boy from Cuba found off the Florida coast on Thanksgiving became the most talked about child in America. Elián González had left Cuba with his mom and a dozen other migrants, trying to make it to the U.S. but on the way, the boat capsized. Elián’s mother drowned. Before she did, she tied her child to an inner tube, saving his life. Relatives in Miami — Cuban exiles — took the boy in. His father in Cuba wanted him back. The ensuing international custody battle over Elián González became its own mini Cold War, pitting Cuban exiles in Miami against supporters of Castro’s regime on an island just 90 miles away."

The fate of the child turned family members and neighbors against each other, and, according to the latest episode, "The Punishment Vote," even played an influential role in the 2000 presidential election.

"Elián and his dad went back to Cuba in June 2000, just four months before the US Presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore. Miami Cubans, hurt and angered by President Bill Clinton’s handling of the Elián case, resolved to vote against the Democrats and for the Republicans in what was called el voto castigo — the punishment vote."

Check out the latest episode of Chess Piece: The Elián González Story on iHeartRadio to hear what producer Tasha Sandoval's grandmother, "an 87-year-old Miami Cuban," had to say about the case.

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