Many in World Captivated by 5-Month Saga

When it comes to drama, distance doesn’t matter.

The story of 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez has captivated international audiences: a shipwreck that killed his mother, a distraught father, a family feud and a resurgence in Cold War politics.

On Saturday, when the Associated Press picture of a federal agent in riot gear holding an automatic rifle as Elian cowered in the arms of a friend was broadcast around the world, interest around the globe surged.

“I think it was the most traumatic thing they could have done to the child,” said Cathy Ferreira, 22, an economics student at Witwatersrand University in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The case had hopscotched for months until the throng of armed officers burst into the Miami house of Lazaro Gonzalez, the boy’s great-uncle, who had been caring for him since he was rescued at sea in November.

In the beginning, posters in Italy advertised his plight. Asian talk shows buzzed his name. Magazines in Latin America used potent pictures of the boy playing with bunnies and puppies.

And Saturday, the AP photo had people talking.

“He was terrified,” said Ferreira, in South Africa.

In Israel, radio and television stations, which usually give little attention to foreign news, led their Saturday broadcasts with the image. The German all-news television station NTV put a crew in front of the Miami house to give a German-language rendition of the events.

In Britain, the Sunday People used the headline “Shipwreck Kid Snatched at Gunpoint,” while the Sunday Telegraph used a photo and the headline, “Give Me the Boy or I Shoot.”

The Greek Communist Party newspaper, Rizospastis, published several cartoons depicting Elian being held against his will by a mean-looking “Uncle Sam.” Others, meanwhile, took aim at Fidel Castro, Cuba’s Communist leader.