The newest of Cárdenas' three museums offers a well-designed and organized overview of the history of US–Cuban relations, replete with sophisticated graphics. Inspired by the case of Elián González, a boy from Cardeńas whose mother, stepfather and 11 others drowned attempting to enter the US by boat in 1999, the museum is the solid form of Castro's resulting batalla de ideas (battle of ideas) with the US government.
The displays' themes naturally center round the eight months during which Cuba and the US debated the custody of Elián – but it extends also to displays on the quality of the Cuban education system and a courtyard containing busts of anti-imperialists who died for the revolutionary cause. The exhibit that most epitomizes the purpose of the museum, however, is possibly the sculpture of a child in the act of disparagingly throwing away a Superman toy.
