"Juan Miguel, your homeland appreciates your determination and courage in defense of its honor and its deserved victory! You have showed that at crucial times in the life of a people one man’s actions can compensate for the dishonor brought about by traitors like those who tried to steal your son".
"To save Elián’s life, Juan Miguel was prepared to give up his own, and to risk the lives of his wife and other son. Yet, he was never willing to betray his Homeland to buy the return of the son he loved so deeply. His conduct has brought him glory and the eternal admiration of his people".
"I have left out many other unforgettable events, yet at none of those moments in our struggle have I felt such intense emotion as I did when I saw on television that door open on the little plane that brought them from the United States, after so many months of tireless battle, and the figures of Juan Miguel and Elián emerge, at 7:53 p.m. on June 28. A small boy and a modest Cuban father, known by very few people hardly a few months before, were returning as great moral symbols of our homeland".
"The future worries me, but I believe evermore that the solution is within our grasp, if we are successful in having the truth reach a sufficient number of people among the billions inhabiting the planet".
"Our country will pursue its internationalist policy without hesitation and in solidarity with the revolutionary movement worldwide (APPLAUSE); our country will deepen its revolutionary ideas and carry its banners as far as it is capable of taking them. Our country will also maintain its own hallmark which is the result of its experiences and its history; and in terms of ideology, we will maintain our own approach, with absolute independence, following on our own path set by our people based on our experiences and in accordance with our tasks."
“We do not go around flattering any government, or asking for forgiveness or favors. We neither harbor in our hearts a single atom of fear. The history of our Revolution has proven its capacity to stand up to challenges, its capacity to fight and its capacity to resist whatever it has to; that is what has turned us into an invincible people. These are our principles. Our Revolution is based on ideas and persuasion, and not on the use of force”.
"A revolution can only be born from culture and ideas".
"This country can self-destruct; this Revolution can destroy itself, but they can never destroy us; we can destroy ourselves, and it would be our fault".
"What is the ethic of a revolutionary? All revolutionary thinking begins with a bit of ethics; some values acquired from parents, others from teachers, but no one is born with these ideas. No one is born with the gift of speech, either; someone has to teach us to speak. The influence of the family is huge".
"(...) ethical values are essential. Without ethical values, there can be no revolutionary values".