The removal of Elian Gonzalez from his relatives in Miami was in Elian's best interest. Most Americans think so. According to an ABC News.com poll, 59 percent of Americans think the boy should be returned to his father and sent back to Cuba. Parental rights were the number one issue for those in favor of returning the boy to his father. Senator John Warner of Virginia stated in a letter regarding the Elian case that unless it can be shown that Elian's father is totally unfit or incapable of caring for Elian, preserving the parent-child relationship must be our main responsibility. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Most people in favor of Elians returning to his father must believe that Juan Miguel is a fit and caring father. Furthermore, if these people genuinely care about his well-being, they must believe that Cuba is not a bad place to raise a family. As long as he has his father, young Elian will be fine. Let's take a closer look at the country where Juan Miguel Gonzalez wants to raise his son and then decide whether this is really a place where a fit and caring parent would raise a child. Every year the State Department and human rights organizations continue to bomb Cuba for human rights violations. Cuban citizens, including children, who express their disagreement with Cuba are routinely threatened, vilified, tortured, beaten and imprisoned without trial, and children are separated from their parents to be raised by the state. What would happen if Elian decided to express his discontent with the Cuban government in any way, shape or form? The Cuban Constitution states that all legally recognized civil liberties may be denied to anyone who actively opposes the "decision of the Cuban people to build socialism". In a 1997 report, the US State Department stated that the state has assumed the right to interfere in the lives of all citizens, even those who do not actively oppose the government and its practices. The ostensible purpose of mass organizations is to "improve" citizenship, but in reality their goal is to track down and discourage nonconformism. Gone is Elian's freedom to think and act as an individual. I have heard many people say that Cuba is improving. Human rights conditions are improving. It's not like that. Two months ago, the United Nations Human Rights Commission condemned Cuba, for the eighth time, for its systematic violation of human rights. Amnesty International and the US State Department did the same. Just this year, the Clinton administration labeled Cuba one of the world's worst human rights violators and a terrorist regime. Armando Valldares US, ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights from 1986 to 1990, spent 22 years in a Cuban prison for refusing to pledge allegiance to the communist regime. Armando told the story of a 12-year-old boy named Robertico. The boy was caught playing with a gun he had found in the open car of the political police captain. Robertico was sent to prison together with common criminals. Within a few days, those soulless prisoners raped him. As a result he spent several days in hospital being treated for rent and bleeding. Upon his release, his card had been marked "homosexual" and he was taken to the area of ​​the prison reserved for.