Elián González joins Communist youth group, AP says

June 16, 2008 The Associated Press is reporting that Elián González was among the 18,000 youths who joined Cuba's Young Communist Union on Saturday. Juventud Rebelde, the communist youth newspaper, quoted González as saying that he will never let down ex-president Fidel Castro and his brother, Raul Castro.

An international custody battle centering around González became the focus of much media attention eight years ago. The boy had survived a boating accident when he and his mother fled Cuba to go to the United States. His mother did not survive the accident.

Elián González turns 15 in December.