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Today marks ten years since Elian Gonzalez was snatched by INS officials at gunpoint and forced to to return to his father in Cuba.
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Cuban Picked Up in Styrofoam Raft Off the Keys
Cuban refugee set sail from the island on June 20
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
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A Cuban man's journey to freedom took quite a bit of ingenuity and nearly ended his life.
On Tuesday, U.S. Coast Guard officers rescued a severely dehydrated man from a homemade boat made mostly of Styrofoam near the Florida Keys.
The unidentified man told authorities he had cast off from Havana on June 20. A picture of the white boat shows a few pieces of metal helped outfit the vessel and a plastic gallon jug was still inside.
The amazing voyage comes just days after the Cuban government began releasing political prisoners in a move that was viewed internationally as a sign things were getting better on the island.
The fact that someone was willing to risk their life on a raft made of Styrofoam might prove otherwise.
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