4. Elian Gonzalez

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Elian Gonzalez was plucked from the sea, floating in a rubber raft, on November 26th, 1999. His mother and stepfather, along with eight others, drowned in a desperate attempt to escape Cuba.

Now, the boys' relatives in Miami are fighting to keep him in the US. His natural father and grandparents back in Havana have launched an international protest, seeking to have him returned. Fidel Castro has personally demanded the boy's release, and daily demonstrations in central Havana have brought more than two million protesters to the streets. "Return Elian to his country" reads a billboard behind the city's Coppelia ice-cream shop.

The US legal position on such matters is generally that a child's natural parent should be allowed to keep the child. In any other situation, the child would be returned. But this boy is Cuban, politics and votes are involved, so nothing is assumed.

Over the years many Cubans have tried to flee Cuba. Many of these escapes has ended in tragedy. The '13 de Mares' Tugboat Massacre was one of the worst tragedies. On 13 July 1994 at 3.00 a.m. in the morning, 72 Cuban nationals who were attempting to leave the island for the United States put out to sea from the port of Havana in an old tugboat named '13 de Mares'. No sooner had they set off from the Cuban Port than two boats began pursuing it.

About 45 minutes into the trip, when the tugboat was seven miles away from the Cuban coast, the two other boats appeared along side it. They were equipped with tanks and hoses and proceeded to attack it. They sprayed everyone on deck with pressurised water. The tugboat eventually sank killing up to forty people.