Cuba's Javier Sotomayor, the best high jumper in history, has opened a private business in his former home in the Havana neighbourhood of Miramar (Footage by AFPTV via Getty Images)

TAPE_NUMBER: EF00/1098 IN_TIME: 20:40:38 - 21:33:11 LENGTH: 01:47 SOURCES: CUBAVISION RESTRICTIONS: FEED: VARIOUS (THE ABOVE TIME-CODE IS TIME-OF-DAY) SCRIPT: Natural Sound XFA A satisfied President Castro greeted Cuba's national baseball team and other athletes as national heroes on Friday as the first section of the country's Olympic delegation returned from Sydney. Although the baseball team was knocked from its championship throne and had to settle for the silver, and former high-jump champion Javier Sotomayor also ended in second place, Castro did have something to glad about - as of Friday afternoon, there had been no reports that a single athlete or other member of the Cuban delegation had defected during the Sydney games. Castro, dressed in his typical olive green uniform, embraced every member of the delegation as they stepped onto Cuban soil. "Welcome to your homeland: champions of dignity," read a large banner that was hung from the side of the international terminal. "Returning with glory to the homeland," read another. Cuban salsa music blared from speakers and hundreds of sports fans cheered and waved as the aeroplane exit was opened and the athletes emerged. The communist government had worked hard to prevent defections during the Olympics, and Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque gave the group a particularly rough speech, shown live on state television. He told them that the country was more with concerned about their loyalty than gold medals. At the airport Perez Roque congratulated the athletes upon returning "with the glory of the homeland". But Castro's pleasure at the return of his nation's finest athletes was tempered in his address to the athletes and gathered crowds which implied corruption at the Olympics had robbed Cuba of medals they deserved. SOUNDBITE (Spanish): "No one should be downcast. Now, what we need to do, is perfect everything. Because we know what the Olympics are like today - I'm not going to talk about it: how they have completely commercialized it; how certain sports have been so corrupted, because they have done it with boxing, where really we only lost one or two medals - the others were stolen from us." SUPER CAPTION: Fidel Castro, Cuban President The Cubana airlines flight that arrived on Friday afternoon carried 245 athletes, trainers and other members of the Olympics team. Gold medalist Anier Garcia, who beat three Americans in the men's 110-metre hurdles, carried the red, white and blue Cuban flag as he led the delegation down the airplane steps. He was accompanied by Filiberto Azcuy, who won the gold in Greco-Roman wrestling; and women judo champions Legna Verdecia, in the 52-kilogram category and Sibelis Veranes, 70 kilograms. SHOTLIST: Havana, Cuba 29 September, 2000 1. Wide shot of Cuban President Fidel Castro walks out of airport building to greet athletes 2. Medium crowd on terrace awaiting athletes 3. Close athletes exit plane, embraced by Castro 4. Medium Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque addressing athletes Wideshot of Perez Roque 5. Close athletes 6. Medium Castro addressing athletes 7. Wideshot athletes 8. Various of athletes 9. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Fidel Castro, Cuban President 10. Various of athletes greeted by children 11. Close Kangaroo doll on bag 12. Pan from athletes walking on tarmac to supporter at airport 13. Athletes walking towards terminal building?

Elio y Eliamnys no habían nacido cuando el astro Javier Sotomayor destrozaba los récords mundiales (Footage by AFPTV via Getty Images)

TAPE_NUMBER: EF00/0217 IN_TIME: 19:00:44 - 19:33:00 // 22:06:06 // 04:24:58 LENGTH: 02:07 SOURCES: APTN RESTRICTIONS: FEED: VARIOUS (THE ABOVE TIME-CODE IS TIME-OF-DAY) SCRIPT: Spanish/Nat Cuba has accused Washington of inventing spy charges to block the return of a six-year-old Cuban boy caught in the middle of a custody battle. The Cuban diplomat accused of spying had previously assisted the grandparents of Elian Gonzalez on their recent visit to the U-S to discuss the boy's future. The boy, who lost his mother while crossing the Miami Straits last year, is being cared for by relatives despite his father's plea from Cuba for custody. A spy scandal has fuelled the blazing row between Washington and Havana over the future custody of six year old Elian Gonzalez. In Havana, crowds of several hundred gather almost daily to demand that the U-S hand Elian back to his natural father in Cuba. Tuesday's protest, which featured top athletes, including Olympic medallists Javier Sotomayor and Alberto Juantorena, took on a new dimension. The legal procedures which decide Elian's fate were further complicated by a series of spy charges against a Cuban diplomat who has played a part in talks about Elian between the two countries. The diplomat had recently met Elian's grandmothers, Raquel Rodriguez and Mariela Quintana, at the start of their aborted attempt to meet Elian last month. He now has orders to leave the U-S by the end of the week. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) "We will continue with our rightful and dignified fight until secure of our victory. We will win. We will no longer see the image of a sad Elian absent from home. It will be replaced with an Elian happy to be home with all of us. Viva Fidel. Viva la Revolution. Socialism or death. Fatherland or death. We will win." SUPER CAPTION: Cuban protestor The alleged spy worked at the Cuban Interests Section and had recently met with Mariano Faget, a Cuban-born supervisor with the U-S Immigration and Naturalization Service. Faget was arrested in Miami last week on charges of passing on classified information. But Cuba denies any spy accusations and says Washington has invented them to block the boy's return. U-S officials say the two cases are unrelated. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) "The North American government has insisted that their interests section building does not carry out intelligence work in this country." SUPER CAPTION: News presenter SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) "If we were to ask the United States Interest Section in Cuba to withdraw all workers who take part in illegal functions rather than diplomatic ones, there would be very few if any diplomatic staff left in the office." SUPER CAPTION: News Presenter SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) "We are reiterating to the government of the United States - instead of expelling one of our workers from a Cuban interests section, why not accept to present this case to a tribunal in the United States?" SUPER CAPTION: News presenter Havana has also described the sudden illness of U-S District Judge William Hoeveler, who was to have ruled Tuesday on Elian's future, as strange. U-S District Judge K. Michael Moore has been assigned to replace Hoeveler, who was hospitalized over the weekend for an apparent stroke. SHOTLIST: XFA Havana, Cuba - 22 February 2000 1. Wide of Palacio de Convenciones conference centre with people clapping 2. President Fidel Castro entering conference hall 3. Crowd applauding Fidel Castro 4. Fidel Castro gesturing to crowd 5. Children performing 6. Various of crowd 7. Children on stage 8. Crowd 9. Fidel Castro in crowd 10. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Cuban protestor 11. Audience cheering and applauding 12. Music group playing on stage 13. Various of audience clapping 14. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) News presenter 15. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) News Presenter 11. Cut away of U-S Interests Section 12. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) News presenter 13. Closing shot of U-S Interests Section ?

President Barack Obama remarks at Cinco de Mayo event in White House rose garden 18:27:02 THE PRESIDENT: Viva! Good evening, everyone. Buenas noches. Michelle and I are so honored to welcome you to the White House. And you all brought outstanding weather, so we thank you for that. (Laughter.) Thank you. I know that a lot of you would rather be watching tonight's game -- the Spurs against "Los Suns" from Phoenix. (Applause.) Tonight is another one of our great events here at the White House celebrating Latino culture in America, including our concert some of you might have attended that we had during Hispanic Heritage Month on 18:27:44 the South Lawn -- Fiesta Latina. (Applause.) And Malia and Sasha will probably never forget playing drums with Shelia E. (Laughter.) Michelle, on the other hand, would prefer to forget the sight of me trying to dance with Thalia. (Laughter.) I didn't think I was that bad. (Laughter.) MRS. OBAMA: You were okay. (Laughter.) THE PRESIDENT: But there will be no -- there will be no repeat performances tonight. AUDIENCE: Awwww -- (laughter.) THE PRESIDENT: We gather to mark a day that's become as celebrated here in the United States as it is in Mexico. And we're honored to be joined by Mexico's Interior Secretary, Fernando Gomez Mont and his lovely wife Gloria. Please give them a big round of applause. (Applause.) It's good to see you again. And a great friend to me and the United States -- Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan and his wonderful wife Veronica, who are also here. (Applause.) It's good to see you again. Now, the events of this date in history are well-known -- how nearly 150 years ago, at the Battle of Puebla, a band of Mexican patriots faced off against a massive European army and won a victory that inspires the world to this day. Less well-known is that General Zaragoza, who led those patriots, was born in what is now the town of 18:29:18 Goliad in Texas. In fact, you can go there today -- are you from there? AUDIENCE MEMBER: Yes. THE PRESIDENT: You can visit his birthplace. It's a historical landmark. It includes a 10-foot tall statue of the general, presented by the people of Mexico and preserved by the people of the United States. So the glory of this day is shared by both of our countries. And so is our pride in the lasting contributions that Hispanics have made to America throughout our history, including the men and women who join us here tonight. 18:29:51 We're joined by dedicated members of Congress and members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, as well as some of their staffs. This includes Senator Bob Menendez -- (applause.) Hey, Bob. Representative Xavier Becerra -- where is Xavier? (Applause.) There he is, back there. Chairwoman Nydia Velazquez. Where's Nydia? (Applause.) We're joined by outstanding members of my Cabinet, including Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis -- (applause.) Hilda! As well as Secretary of Homeland Security Napolitano is here. (Applause.) And although she's down -- although he's down on the Gulf helping to lead our response to the oil spill, I want to acknowledge my outstanding Interior Secretary, Ken Salazar. (Applause.) We're joined by Hispanic Americans serving at every level of my government. And I'm proud that we've nominated more Latinos to senior positions than any administration in history -- (applause) -- not just because they're Latino, but because they're the best people for the job. 18:31:16 And I should note that many of those appointments are Latinas -- "wise Latinas," undoubtedly. (Applause.) And although she's not here tonight, I think we should give a little round of applause to our first Latina on the Supreme Court --Sonia Sotomayor. (Applause.) We're also joined by leaders from every segment of American society. And I especially want to welcome those of you serving on the commission to explore the creation of a new museum in Washington to celebrate the history of Latinos in America. (Applause.) And I look forward to seeing the results of the commission's hard work and to the day when we open the doors on a new National Museum of the American Latino. Tonight's performers are a wonderful example of how Latin culture has shaped and strengthened the fabric of America. So I want to say thank you to Maru and the Montero Dance Company, along with Javier Cortes. (Applause.) Thank you very much. Before I came out I was listening to you guys inside. You sounded really good. (Laughter.) 18:32:31 Now, by celebrating the story of Hispanics in America, we're really celebrating the larger story of America. After all, the dreams of Mexican Americans and all Latinos are the same dreams as any other American. It's why, in the face of an unprecedented economic crisis, we took bold action to get our economy growing again, creating jobs again and laying the foundation for lasting prosperity. That's good for all Americans, including Hispanics among whom the unemployment rate remains unacceptably high and who are ready to go back to work. It's why, after nearly a century, we passed historic health care reform, with the help of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. And we're grateful to them. (Applause.) That's good for all Americans. It's good for all Americans, including the millions of Latinos who will finally get the coverage they lack today, as well as the Latino small business owners who will finally be able to provide coverage for their employees. And that allows them to join the children of legal immigrants who are finally able to get health care through the SCHIP program, something that we did very early on in my administration. (Applause.) It's why we've made college more affordable, why we're reforming education. And that's good for all children, including Latinos, who instead of having the highest dropout rate, deserve every chance to achieve their God-given potential. So today reminds us that America's diversity is America's strength. That's why I spoke out against the recently passed law in Arizona. (Applause.) Make no mistake, our immigration system is broken. And after so many years in which Washington has failed to meet its responsibilities, Americans are right to be frustrated, including folks along border states. But the answer isn't to undermine fundamental principles that define us as a nation. We can't start singling out people because of who they look like, or how they talk, or how they dress. We can't turn law-abiding American citizens -- and law-abiding immigrants -- into subjects of suspicion and abuse. We can't divide the American people that way. That's not the answer. That's not who we are as the United States of America. And that's why I've instructed my administration to closely monitor the new law in Arizona, to examine the civil rights and other implications that it may have. That's why we have to close the door on this kind of misconceived action by meeting our obligations here in Washington. So I want to say it again, just in case anybody is confused. The way to fix our broken immigration system is through common-sense, comprehensive immigration reform. (Applause.) That means responsibility from government to secure our borders, something we have done and will continue to do. It means responsibility from businesses that break the law by undermining American workers and exploiting undocumented workers -- they've got to be held accountable. It means responsibility from people who are living here illegally. They've got to admit that they broke the law, and pay taxes, and pay a penalty, and learn English, and get right before the law -- and then get in line and earn their citizenship. Comprehensive reform -- that's how we're going to solve this problem. And I know there's been some commentary over the last week since I talked about this difficult issue: Well, is this politically smart to do? Can you get Republican votes? Look, of course, it's going to be tough. That's the truth. Anybody who tells you it's going to be easy or I can wave a magic wand and make it happen hasn't been paying attention how this town works. (Laughter.) We need bipartisan support. But it can be done. And it needs to be done. So I was pleased to see a strong proposal for comprehensive reform presented in the Senate last week -- and I was pleased that it was based on a bipartisan framework. I want to begin work this year, and I want Democrats and Republicans to work with me -- because we've got to stay true to who we are, a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. That's the spirit that I saw in some remarkable men and women that I recently hosted right here in the Rose Garden. They came from more than a dozen countries. And even though they weren't yet citizens, they had enlisted in the United States military. And one woman was named Perla Ramos, and she was born and raised in Mexico. She came to the United States shortly after 9/11. Her husband was a U.S. Marine, and she said, "a passion for the military grew inside me." In time, she joined herself -- enlisting in the Navy. And she said, "I take pride in our flag and the history that forged this great nation and the history we write day by day." And as Perla's Commander-in-Chief, I took great pride in helping to swear her in -- a daughter of Mexico and one of our newest American citizens. (Applause.) So she continues a great tradition of Mexican Americans serving in our military -- someone in whom both our nations can take great pride. So, today I want us to remember -- the United States and Mexico are not simply neighbors, bound by geography and history. We're two societies that are woven together by millions of family and friends, by common interests and a shared future. Those are bonds that are unbreakable. They're bonds of an aspirational community -- you and your mothers and fathers, and brothers and sisters who struggled and sacrificed to realize the American Dream. They're also bonds of commerce and trade that sustain millions of jobs -- both in Mexico and in the United States. They're bonds that are represented in the trust and respect that I have for President Calderon as we work together to create opportunity and prosperity for our peoples, and confront the drug cartels and violence that threaten both our countries. It's the warmth that Michelle felt on her recent trip to Mexico -- her first solo trip as First Lady. (Applause.) And it's the friendship and cooperation that we'll deepen when we host President Calderon and First Lady Margarita Zavala for their state visit and dinner in a couple of weeks. (Applause.) That's the spirit that all of you are putting on display today. So thank you for living it in your own lives. Thank you for sharing it with us tonight. Have a wonderful party. You can be as noisy as you want. (Laughter.) MRS. OBAMA: We can hear you. THE PRESIDENT: We can hear you, though. (Laughter.) If it goes past a certain hour we'll kick you out. All right? (Laughter.) Thank you very much, everybody. God bless you. (Applause.) END

Javier Sotomayor ha saltado tan alto que hasta ahora nadie lo supera. El cubano que marcó un récord de 2,45 m en 1993 y sabe de largas esperas por lesiones, pide a los atletas no dejar que la pandemia apague sus sueños (Footage by AFPTV via Getty Images)

Cuban former athlete Javier Sotomayor has jumped higher than anyone else in the history of the world (Footage by AFPTV via Getty Images)

Javier Sotomayor le tenia miedo a las alturas Pero vencio sus temores y logro saltar tan alto que hasta hoy nadie ha conseguido superarlo (Footage by AFPTV via Getty Images)

Javier Sotomayor used to be afraid of heights but the Cuban athlete overcame his fears and managed to jump so high that even today nobody has managed to beat his world record (Footage by AFPTV via Getty Images)