Across the world, newspapers seized on the shocking story – and photographs – of the weekend raid to seize Elian Gonzalez from his Miami relatives.
The story, accompanied by the now infamous picture of a federal agent pointing a rifle toward Elian and his rescuer, Donato Dalrymple, grabbed headlines from London to Hong Kong.
In England, the News of the World’s headline screamed, “Shame of America.” And with the infamous picture, “Give us the boy or we shoot.”
“Picture that shames America,” read the headline of The Sunday Express, another British paper.
Elian’s story provided fodder for every political bent.
Canada’s Edmonton Sun reported the case as “Feds snatch Elian,” then went on to describe how “riot police with batons and shields beat demonstrators” in Miami’s Little Havana.
The Hong Kong Standard focused on the boy’s reunion. “Elian happy with father,” read the Standard’s headline over a story that described how Elian spent Easter Sunday with his father.
A cartoon in the Hong Kong paper showed President Clinton watching TV from his easy chair as a picture of agents with guns pointed at Elian flashes on the screen.
“Now you can move on to gun control,” a presidential aide tells Clinton.
Madrid’s El Pais seemed more concerned about the impact the case would have on relations between the United States and Cuba.
El Pais ran a slew of stories about Elian, including a quote from Cuban dictator Fidel Castro in the front-page headline that talked about the potential for better relations.
Russia’s Tass news service, a Soviet holdover, gave Castro – an old pal of Moscow’s – top billing: “Fidel Castro hailed the reunion.”
The Tass reports provided on-the-spot coverage of Castro’s reaction, describing the reunion of Elian and his dad as the first day of reconciliation between Havana and Washington.
In Switzerland, the Neue Zurcher Zeitung newspaper, focused on how “police in Miami restored order.”