Cuba's makeshift fleet risks all to follow Elian

Even while the future of six-year-old Elian Gonzalez hangs in the balance, there has been no let-up in the exodus of Cubans yearning for wealth in America.

Last year, 1,300 people fled the island, clutching their few possessions in plastic shopping bags, and waded into political exile. But although more than 60 would-be refugees - including Elian's mother, Elisabet Brotons - drowned in the attempt, hundreds of others still try to sneak across the perilous straits to the United States.

They meet at the island's mangrove-choked northern shore and bundle their families into small motorised boats - a bare step up from the crude rafts lashed together by refugees a decade ago. The powerful Gulf Stream currents off Cardenas can carry them 90 miles north until they hit Florida.

Owners of swift cigarette-smuggling boats, which are also the mode of transport preferred by Miami drug traffickers, can charge up to $8,000 (£5,000) for each passenger. But the penalties are harsh and, if caught, smugglers of human cargo can languish for years in Cuban prisons. The boatbuilder who sold a 17ft aluminium craft to Lazaro Munero, the hustler boyfriend of Elian's mother, was arrested after the overloaded boat foundered and 11 people drowned. He is awaiting trial in Matanzas province.

Despite the risk, most locals prefer to use small operators, because they charge less. The couple who survived the trip with Elian told US immigration officers they had paid $1,000 for their illegal voyage.

Nobody openly touts these trips, but the unemployed men who loiter on the traffic islands between Varadero resort and Cardenas are resourceful. For cash up front, they usually can find out when the next boat will set off from one of three strategic points along the swampy shoreline near Cardenas.

"When you're ready to leave, you're not afraid of the sea," says Carmen Rodriguez Brotons, Elian's cousin. "When you're in the middle of the ocean, feeling the large waves and seeing nothing around you at night or day, you get scared."

She made the voyage two years ago after chipping in with her husband, Orlando, and six other relatives to buy a second-hand boat for $500. Orlando's parents, his two brothers and a sister-in-law perished last November on the journey.

Most of the Cubans who try such perilous crossings are under 30. More than half of Cuba's 11 million citizens were born after the 1959 revolution, and they take for granted the free schooling and health care available under communism. But, increasingly, young people chafe under the restrictions of the post-revolutionary lifestyle. Designer labels have such cachet among young Cubans that Tommy Hilfiger's signature is on more T-shirts in Havana than Che Guevara's.

Rebels embrace capitalism not only to annoy their hardline parents, but to find their way out of a stagnating system. Since the economy bottomed out in the early 1990s with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Cuban government has encouraged foreign tourists to bring in hard currency. Cruise ships now call at Havana harbour again and dollars fly freely. Youthful Cubans compare lifestyles with the visitors and many want out. Varadero, the beach resort where Elian's parents worked for dollar tips, is one of the biggest jumping-off points. "You get a glimpse of the good life here, and you know you can do even better outside," says Maria, a chambermaid in the Paradiso Hotel. "It's just a matter of time."

Average salaries in Cuba are only $8 (£5) per month, with top professionals earning $30 (£20). The government hands out rations books for basic foodstuffs, but families with no access to dollars are hard-pressed to scrimp through the month. Maria's modest tips means she makes more in a day than the average worker does in 30.

Many Cubans must rely on friends and relatives who send back money from abroad. The estimated $800m (£550m) is a vital prop for Cuba's economy. Relatives frequently arrive with their suitcases stuffed with medicine, even simple aspirin, unavailable here. Society now has three tiers: the Communist Party élite, those with access to dollars and the rest.

"We must give our youth a future," says Raimundo Garcia, founder of the Christian Centre of Reflection and Dialogue in Cardenas. "That is the wake-up call we've been given. After the return of Elian we cannot slack off and simply return to our homes."

With two million tourists expected this year, Cuba has invested heavily in beach and scuba-diving resorts. New joint ventures have brought dozens of construction cranes to the Varadero seafront, where timeshare apartments and beach- side tower blocks are sprouting. To promote a family atmosphere, the government is cracking down hard on prostitution.

But after the foreign tourists end their swimming with dolphins or windsurfing by day, the flotilla of economic exiles pays even more to set out after dark.

The US Attorney General, Janet Reno, defended her handling of the case yesterday, after critics said she had hesitated too long about removing Elian from his Miami relatives, was too personally involved and had lost her way. Ms Reno said: "If the criticism of me is that I'm trying to avoid violence, and trying to avoid that little boy being hurt ... I plead guilty."