no tv crews and no raids from the bedroom. cnn s shasta darlington reports. reporter: you probably remember the face, elian gonzalez, the cuban rafter boy at the heart of a politically charged custody battle. he s not so little anymore. elian, now 16 attends a cuban military academy. he joined the union of communist youth vowing to follow the example of fidel and raul castro. elian was just 5 when a smuggler s boat headed to the united states flipped over and killed his mother. he was found clinging to an innertube and handed over to relatives in south florida. fidel castro himself led the battle to bring elian back. little elian will return to his family, his land and his school, he said. the raid on his relatives home in miami led to elian s return to cuba and his market. once home they had front-row seats in castro s rallies.