Elian Gonzalez

THEN: After his mother drowned while fleeing Cuba, the 5-year-old found floating in an inner tube became the focus of an international custody debate. U.S. agents took him from the home of Florida relatives in 2000 and returned him to his father in Cuba.

NOW: The 16-year-old, enrolled in military school, made a rare public appearance in June with President Raúl Castro at a 10th anniversary celebration of his return. "Here I feel good, and thanks to my education," he said, "today I'm almost a man."

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