On Nov. 20, Elian Gonzalez was just another little boy in the Cuban town of Cardenas. He was looking forward to flying a kite made for him by an uncle the following day. That was not to be.

Elian, since Nov. 25 when he was rescued from the Atlantic Ocean, has become the center of heated political debate between Washington and Havana as well as a poster-child for a Miami-based anti-Castro exile movement. Through funding by the Cuban-American National Foundation a flier with his picture is being distributed all over the United States.

In Havana, Cuban President Fidel Castro even decided against attending the Dec. 10 inaugural ceremonies for Argentina�s president-elect, Fernando de la Rua, in order to fully dedicate himself to the campaign for the child�s return. Mr. Castro warned on Dec. 4 that he is going to "move heaven and earth" and organize a "world battle" for the boy�s return to Cuba.

"All I can say is that if (the U.S. authorities) are halfway intelligent, they would announce the return of the child within 72 hours," Mr. Castro declared.

Elian and two others are the only survivors of a capsized, 17-foot aluminum boat that left Cuba Nov. 21 grossly overloaded with 14 passengers. His mother was killed on the journey.

Cuban-American Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said Elian�s case had "put a real human face on the drama and the terror and the tragedy that is the Cuban experience day in and day out," and his mother wanted him to grow up in the United States and sacrificed her life to make that happen. "Her last breath and prayers to God must have been for him to reach liberty and live in freedom," Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen said.

In the wake of Cuban protests on the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service Dec. 9 decided it would return Elian to his father if Mr. Gonzalez could prove paternity. Legal experts say unless Mr. Gonzalez is found to be an unfit parent, his right over his son should outweigh all others under Florida law.

A Florida court is scheduled to hear the custody case on Dec. 23; and Elian is expected to decide if he wants to return to his father or if he prefers to stay in the United States. There are concerns that Elian will be influenced by the enormous amount of toys and seeming affection shown by his Miami relatives.

President Castro maintains that "the right of a father and son is non-negotiable," and that those who demand that the boy remain in the United States "do not have a leg to stand on."

Juan Miguel Gonzalez said he wants his son with him in Cardenas and expressed confidence in the support of President Castro and the Cuban people in that regard. He said Elian�s mother took the boy out of Cuba without his permission and accused his cousins in Miami of bribing the child with toys and other gifts.

"I am confident that our country, our revolution, our commander will do everything in his power and we�ll have him home soon," he said on Cuban television.

Adding his voice to a political opportunity, GOP presidential candidate and Arizona Senator John McCain told NBC News that freedom is something he wishes for all the people of Cuba and of any country, and that he would not want to put anyone in Mr. Castro�s hands unless it was absolutely necessary, "and it is not necessary in this case."

But Illinois Republican Governor George Ryan, who recently visited Cuba, recently said, "the child belonged to his father." But "in the spirit of goodwill the child also should have free passage to visit his U.S. relatives as well."

Putting politics aside, Elian�s case is clear-cut. "It is a case of a powerful government denying a father his right to his child," said Ricardo Alarcon, president of the Cuban parliament. Mr. Alarcon told ABC�s Nightline that the conditions given by the U.S. government for the return of Elian to his father contravenes the International Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Mr. Alarcon warned that unless the return of Elian is confirmed by the U.S. government bilateral talks on migration between the two countries would be halted. The talks were set to begin Dec. 13, at Final Call presstime.

Under a migration agreement between the two countries, the United States must grant 20,000 visas annually to Cuban emigrants and repatriate all illegal Cuban emigrants intercepted while attempting to reach U.S. territory. Cuba, for its part, is required to not take any retaliatory measures against the returnees.

"Because of U.S. foreign policy people have to become refugees to come here and that�s what�s at the root of the problem," said attorney Thomas Ruffin, chairman of the D.C. chapter of the National Conference of Black Lawyers. "It�s tragic and crazy. The boy�s mother lost her life and risked the life of her son to come here.

"They can�t justify politicizing a custody battle, especially when Republicans and Democrats are espousing family values," he said.