NBC's Jim Avila reported from Havana that when Elian Gonzalez is likely returned to Cuba, he and his family would enjoy the "Cuban good life" otherwise reserved for Communist Party elites. His father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, is "from a family of loyal communists with good jobs in the local government," which for Juan Miguel means being a cashier at a park. Elian's mother, Elisa, who perished while trying to get herself and her son to the United States, held a "prestigious job" as a maid at a tourist hotel where she could earn "dollar tips."

The Cuban government has added a fresh coat of paint and made other improvements to Elian's likely new home, a two-bedroom converted garage in an "exclusive neighborhood" where he would have his own room—"a luxury in housing-short Cuba." The family would also receive five free gallons of gasoline a month, and a bag of extra rice, beans, cooking oil, deodorant, shampoo, razors and shaving cream—about $15 a month worth of goods.

[Ed.: CBS's Randall Pinkston noted that in Juan Miguel Gonzalez's hometown of Cardenes, people move their goods with horse-drawn carts and there is sewage in the streets where children play.]

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