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Yahoo! March 14, 2003.
Group Sues U.S. Over Elian Gonzalez Raid
03/13/03 22:33 EST. The Associated Press
MIAMI, 13 (AP) - A lawsuit filed against the federal government Thursday
claims more than 100 protesters were beaten and pepper-sprayed during the raid
to seize Elian Gonzalez from his Miami relatives' home nearly three years ago.
The lawsuit was filed on the protesters' behalf by Judicial Watch, a
conservative, Washington-based government watchdog group. It seeks punitive and
compensatory damages.
The lawsuit claims federal agents used excessive and indiscriminate force
during the early morning raid in 2000 to retrieve Elian and return him to his
Cuban father.
The lawsuit details injuries that protesters said they suffered during the
early morning raid and lingering medical problems they contend stem from the
incident.
Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Barbara Gonzalez said Thursday
that she was not familiar with the lawsuit, which refers to the Immigration and
Naturalization Service. The INS is now part of the newly created Homeland
Security department.
Elian was rescued off Florida after his mother and most of the other boat
passengers traveling illegally from Cuba died when their vessel capsized. He was
placed with relatives in Miami who, backed by other Cuban exiles, fought to have
him granted asylum in the United States. After a court battle, the father was
granted custody of the then-6-year-old boy, who returned to Cuba in June 2000.
Cuba Protests About Treatment of Spies
Thu Mar 13, 9:13 PM ET
HAVANA - Cuba has filed a protest with the U.S. government charging that
five Cubans held in U.S. prisons on spying convictions were being hindered in
efforts to prepare for appeals, a foreign ministry official said Thurday.
The inmates have until April 7 to present their case before the federal
court of appeals in Atlanta, said Rafael Dausa, director of the Cuban Foreign
Ministry's North America division.
He claimed that the inmates were being held in solitary confinement, saying
the measure is "a major obstacle for the appeals process."
There was no immediate comment from the State Department in Washington.
Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labanino, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando Gonzalez and
Rene Gonzalez were convicted in Miami of trying to infiltrate U.S. military
bases and Cuban exile groups in south Florida. They are serving sentences
ranging from 15 years to life.
Cuban authorities say the men are patriots who were merely working to
prevent violent Cuban exile groups in Florida from launching terrorist acts
against their homeland. | 
