POLITICS-CUBA/US: Tension Grows as Elian Case Nears Deadlines

By Dalia Acosta Reprint | | Print |

Dalia Acosta

HAVANA, Mar 29 2000 (IPS) - The return of the shipwrecked boy Elián González to his father in Cuba could occur at any time, or never – it all depends on the political will of the US government, say political experts on the island.

Cuban analysts are divided between those who predict an immediate decision from Washington to repatriate the six-year-old boy, and those who believe the case will be delayed once again, to the detriment of the rights of the father, Juan Miguel González, who wants his son back by his side in Cuba.

A researcher for the non-governmental Centre for American Studies told IPS that “the Elián story has reached a point in which the US government seems willing to return him to Cuba.”

“They know very well how to conduct this type of operation if they are truly interested in doing so,” said the researcher, who requested anonymity.

Another expert with Cuban-US ties wondered “who is going to be the hero who goes to Miami to take the boy away by force amid protests by exiles and in front of TV cameras from around the world?”

President Fidel Castro stated Tuesday on Cuban state television that anti-Castro forces in the United States would not rule out an “act of desperation,” such as kidnapping the child, whose life would then be in danger.

Individuals in Miami intend to take Eli n to a third country, “most likely Nicaragua or Costa Rica,” according to “intelligence reports,” said Castro.

Among those implicated is Mario Miranda, chief of security for the anti-Castro Cuban-American National Foundation, who plans to marry Marisleysis González, Elián’s cousin who has taken on the role of the boy’s mother in Miami, stated the Cuban president.

Elián was turned over to the custody of his great-uncle Lázaro González, Marisleysis’s father, last November 25 after the boy was found tied to an inner-tube in the Florida straits following the shipwreck that claimed the life of his mother, Elizabeth Brottons, and 12 other Cubans as they tried to reach the United States illegally.

Shortly thereafter, the US Immigration and Naturalisation Service (INS) ordered Elián’s return to Cuba, where his father is waiting for him.

More than two months after that decision, the INS Tuesday granted Elián’s Miami relatives time to provide a written statement conceding they would indeed turn the boy over to authorities if they lose their court case.

The pledge must be turned in by Thursday. If the family does not comply, the US Justice Department announced that it is ready to initiate the process of Elián’s repatriation to Cuba, beginning at 9:00 am (local time) that same day.

Lázaro González, who holds temporary custody of the boy, said Tuesday that he would not co-operate with authorities. “The boy lives in my house and they will have to go there to find him. I am not going to turn him over to any immigration office,” he told the media.

Promising to turn over the boy “would be to betray Elián,” said Marisleysis González, adding that the boy has repeatedly said he wants to stay in the United States.

The possibility that Eli n may be taken from the González family home in Miami sparked immediate criticism from Cuban exiles in the United States, with some leaders threatening to paralyse the city’s seaport and airport.

The anti-Castro Democracy Movement will prevent passengers and employees from reaching the Miami airport beginning Thursday, when “the boy’s case enters its most dangerous phase,” announced the organisation’s president, Ramón Saúl Sánchez.

“We have plans to occupy the port of Miami” and creating a human chain around the González home in the Little Havana neighbourhood to prevent authorities from taking the boy, added Sánchez.

Threats rained down on US television network ABC after it broadcast the second part of a three-part interview with Elián, conducted by Diane Sawyer, newscaster for the network’s Good Morning America programme.

Sawyer had affirmed that Elián said he wanted to stay in Miami, but the network decided “it was best not to broadcast the exact words of the six-year-old boy.”

For her part, María Elena García, INS spokeswoman in Miami, pointed out that authorities have the right to take custody of the boy at any time, but have chosen to seek alternatives in order to prevent causing him further trauma.

US federal judge Kevin Michael Moore ruled earlier this month that only the US Attorney General, Janet Reno, has jurisdiction to grant Elián political asylum status.

Reno has consistently supported the INS January ruling that recognises Elián’s father’s parental right to custody.

The boy’s Miami relatives, who are demanding political asylum on his behalf, decided to appeal judge Moore’s decision, but Reno warned that, according to US law, a pending appeal is not binding.

If the case is accepted, the Second Appeals Court in Atlanta has set a hearing for the week of May 8.