from cuba and how the 2000 custody battle over elian gonzalez reignited debate over operation pedro pan. after her talk, several audience members who came to the u.s. as part of the operation took part in the discussion. florida international university hosted this 45-minute event. [applause] >> thank you so much. before i begin, i would like to ask if there are any pedro panists in the room. a special thank you for coming. i want to acknowledge pedro pan is not strictly or even primarily a topic for academic analysis and that you are the experts in this history. it is with that recognition that i will share a few thoughts with you today, but i do so with humility and appreciation for the opportunity to be with you today. between the fall of 1960 and october of 1962, the parents of more than 14,000 cuban children made the heartbreaking decision to send their children alone to the united states where they were cared for by friends, relatives, foster parents, as well as in camps and orphanages. the reasons why parents did this were varied. many feared for the spiritual well-being of their

from cuba and how the 2000 custody battle over elian gonzalez reignited debate over operation pedro pan. after her talk, several audience members who came to the u.s. as

overnight, the elian gonzalez custody battle infused the contest with memories of peter -- pedro panpainful new urgency. the small boy became, for miami's cuban-americans, a symbol of all of the 14,000 pedro panists whose parents had similarly taken great risks to secure their freedom and future in the united states. returning him to castro's cuba they argued would be an affront to the memory of the sacrifices and hardships of their parents and those endured by all exiles. cubans on the island also linked elian to the children's exodus. in cuba, a new book was hastily put into production. [speaking spanish] "operation pedro pan: the case of psychological warfare against cuba." the promotional tag called it the story of 14,000 elians. castro declared his efforts to rescue elian and reunite him with his father symbolically repaired the injustices committed on the thousands of cuban families destroyed as a result of the u.s. operation pedro pan. we all know how that story ended. elian was returned to cuba. the collective memories of the struggle to keep him in the u.s. and collective me

the emotional tug-of-war in both countries about who would get custody of a ship wrecked boy, elian gonzalez. a retired banker and his wife have seen it all and hope the talks will produce change. >> it will be for the first time -- and perhaps we will have really a new deal. we'll see. >> reporter: good neighbors and a new deal. >> we need to move on. and the united states needs to move on. >> the major thing we got to fix is the economy. everything comes out of the economy. >> reporter: tomorrow the two countries will first talk about opening embassies in havana and washington. negotiating regular commercial flights will take longer, perhaps even a year. then banking, credit, financial ties. most challenging for the cuban government say observers universal access to the internet, exposing more people to a wider world. the hope is that tomorrow's talks will pave the way for secretary of state kerry to come in a few months and finally a meeting in april, the first between cuba's president raul castro and president obama. brian? >> andrea, i have to say given the flight we both took here toda

from cuba and how the 2000 custody battle over elian gonzalez reignited debate over operation pedro pan after her talk, several audience members who came to the u.s. as part of the operation took part in the discussion. florida international university hosted this 45-minute event. [applause] >> thank you so much. before i begin, i would like to ask if there are any pedro panists in the room. a special thank-you for coming. i want to acknowledge pedro pan is not strictly or even primarily a topic for academic analysis and that you are the experts in this history. it is with that recognition that i will share a few thoughts with you today, but i do so with humility and appreciation for the opportunity to be with you today. between the fall of 1960 and october of 1962, the parents of more than 14,000 cuban children made the heartbreaking decision to send their children alone to the united states where they were cared for by friends, relatives, foster parents, as well as in camps and orphanages. the reasons why parents did this were varied. many feared for the spiritual well-being of their