CUBANET ... CUBANEWS

April 5, 2000



Cuba News

The Washington Post

The Washington Post. April 5, 2000

Gore Struggles to Explain His Position on Elian

By John F. Harris. Washington Post Staff Writer. Wednesday, April 5, 2000; Page A08

Vice President Gore says his position on the Elian Gonzalez case has been the same ever since the controversy over the Cuban boy broke four months ago. For a man whose position has never changed, however, the vice president lately has been having a hard time making that position understood.

Just days ago, Gore drew wide notice--and considerable criticism--for breaking with President Clinton and endorsing special legislation to extend resident status to Elian and his relatives in Cuba. The idea, aides said, was that this would shift the legal jurisdiction over the case to Florida family court, which could then decide what is in the boy's best interest.

But in a television interview yesterday morning, Gore stirred up more confusion about his wishes in the case. Asked on NBC's "Today" show what should happen if the boy's father, assuming he comes to the United States, says he wants to return with Elian to Cuba, Gore responded: "If the father says on free soil that he believes the son should go back to Cuba with him, that, of course, is likely to be determinative and will be determinative."

There was no mention of the need for special legislation, and no mention that the father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, should have to first make his case in a Florida domestic relations court.

Had Gore changed his position? A few hours later, his Nashville campaign office released a statement from the candidate, apparently designed to assure people that Gore's stance had not changed: "From the beginning, I have said that, at heart, this is a custody matter that should be handled in a domestic relations court with expertise in these matters."

This means legislation would still be necessary. The Immigration and Naturalization Service has ruled that Elian's father should take custody of the boy, and his Miami relatives have appealed to federal courts. But Gore aides say the INS and the federal courts are making decisions based on immigration law and diplomatic precedent rather than on what is in the best interest of the child.

For a long time, the vice president tried to keep his position on Elian ambiguous. Pressed as far back as January about whether he supported returning the boy to Cuba, Gore sought to avoid making an open break with the administration. But he said in a Jan. 17 debate in Iowa that if the father "is not allowed to come here and speak freely, then the matter should be addressed in our domestic relations courts."

Gore aides and other administration officials said the vice president--consulting with a small group that included campaign chairman Tony Coelho and chief of staff Charles Burson--decided it was important to make his disagreement with the administration explicit. Some sources said he feared that a "precipitous" decision by federal authorities to forcibly take Elian away from the Miami relatives with whom he is living would cause a political backlash in Florida.

Gore political consultant Robert Shrum is also a consultant to Miami Mayor Joe Carollo. But Shrum said he knew of no consultations between the Gore team and the mayor, and that he was not serving as an intermediary.

Gore's position has evolved over the months. In January, he said Elian's father could bring about the return of his son to Cuba merely by stating "on free soil" that he wished to do so. As Gore and various aides describe it now, the father should not only come to the United States but convince a family court that it is in Elian's best interest that he live with him, either in Cuba or in the United States.

The campaign of Texas Gov. George W. Bush (R), who also supports resolving the case in family court, said Gore's statements have been a muddle. "When it comes to the future of Elian Gonzalez, it's becoming increasingly hard to understand what Al Gore believes in or what he thinks should be done," said spokesman Ari Fleischer. "At a time when Elian and his family deserve clarity, the vice president has made the situation more confusing."

Elian Citizenship Plan Fizzles

By Tom Raum. Associated Press Writer. Tuesday, April 4, 2000; 7:09 PM

WASHINGTON –– Short of votes, sponsors of legislation to declare Elian Gonzalez an American citizen or a permanent U.S. resident indicated Tuesday that they may push instead for a nonbinding resolution urging that the boy's custody be decided by an impartial panel.

Sen. Connie Mack, R-Fla., said he may introduce such a measure this week as an amendment to the fiscal 2001 budget.

He said the panel could comprise three child psychiatrists, as suggested by the 6-year-old Cuban refugee's relatives in Miami.

Mack conceded that he and other sponsors of bills to block the Immigration and Naturalization Service from returning the boy to Cuba did not have enough support to bring up the legislation soon.

He accused the Justice Department and the INS of "heavy-handed tactics" and said Vice President Al Gore's support of the permanent residency bill has helped – but not enough to make a floor vote possible.

Meanwhile, INS Commissioner Doris Meissner met for lunch with Senate Democrats.

Participants said she cautioned against any legislative action that would make it difficult for the boy to be returned to his Cuban father. She said it could set a bad precedent and make it more difficult for American parents to retrieve children spirited away to other countries, often by a non-American parent.

Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., said that, despite Democrat Gore's support for the legislation, very little exists for such an approach among the 45 Democratic senators.

Did Gore's announcement sway Democratic votes? "Not that I know of," Daschle told reporters.

The child was rescued last November from an Atlantic Ocean boat wreck that killed his mother.

© 2000 The Associated Press

Official: Dad May Call off Trip

By Michael J. Sniffen. Associated Press Writer. Tuesday, April 4, 2000; 6:27 PM

WASHINGTON –– Government talks with the Miami relatives of Elian Gonzalez were suspended until Thursday to allow lawyers for both the relatives and for Elian's father to consult with their clients over two unresolved issues in the longstanding custody battle.

American diplomats in Havana issued visas Tuesday to Elian's father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, but Cuban officials said he will call off his proposed trip to the United States unless he is assured of temporary custody of his 6-year-old son.

A source close to the case, who requested anonymity, said Juan Miguel's lawyer, Gregory Graig, was going to Cuba on Tuesday evening to see if his client was willing to come to this country with just a handful of associates as a start to the process of gaining final custody.

Meantime, immigration officials met again twice in Miami on Tuesady with lawyers representing Elian's great-uncle, Lazaro Gonzalez, who has temporary custody of the child.

No agreements were reached, and the "the talks were postponed until Thursday morning," Justice spokesman Myron Marlin said late Tuesday afternoon.

The relatives' lawyers requested extra time to consult with the family before the next session because Lazaro Gonzalez is exhausted and overwhelmed and his daugther, Marisleysis, who has helped care for Elian, is in the hospital, according to a government official, who requested anonymity.

This official said there were two outstanding issues: the role of a team of psychologists and whether or not Juan Miguel would stay in the United States until a federal court appeal of the case is completed, expected no earlier than May.

The U.S. government was willing to have psychologists help design the least disruptive transfer of Elian from Lazaro's care to his father's, but the relatives were insisting that such a panel decide whether or not the boy should be transferred.

At one point Tuesday, an attorney for the boy's Miami relatives said negotiations aimed at reuniting Elian with his father appeared to be breaking down without agreement, but the talks resumed briefly in late afternoon to arrange the postponement.

Outside the Miami home where Elian has lived since he was rescued from a Thanksgiving shipwreck that killed his mother, about 200 angry protesters broke down a barrier and formed a human chain. "Elian is not leaving!" they chanted.

Olga Hernandez said they "saw a bus and they thought they (Immigration and Naturalization Service officials) were coming to take him."

City of Miami Police just stood by and watched.

Earlier Tuesday, Elian's cousin Marisleysis Gonzalez was hospitalized for exhaustion after fainting during a round of television interviews. Hospital officials said she was in stable condition and family spokesman Armando Gutierrez said she would stay in the hospital overnight.

After visiting her in the hospital, her father, Lazaro Gonzalez told reporters: "The government is going to destroy this family. We are only trying to protect this child."

Immigration officials have spent the past two days negotiating with the Miami family over how to transfer temporary custody of Elian from Lazaro Gonzalez to Elian's father. U.S. officials raised the possibility that Juan Miguel Gonzalez could travel to Miami to get his son.

Absent an agreement, a Justice Department official said a letter could be sent to Lazaro Gonzalez announcing that temporary custody would be transferred from him to Elian's father. A follow-up letter would provide instructions on how and when the transfer would take place, said the official, asking not to be identified.

In Havana, Vicky Huddleston, the chief of the U.S. Interests Section, delivered to Cuba's Foreign Ministry visas for Juan Miguel Gonzalez, his wife and their infant son, as well as a male cousin, a kindergarten teacher and a pediatrician.

In late March, a federal judge affirmed an INS ruling that Elian belongs with his father in Cuba. The Miami relatives have asked the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta to overturn the lower court ruling; opening arguments are set for the week of May 8.

If arrangements can be worked out for a transfer of custody, Juan Miguel Gonzalez would stay at the home of the head of the Cuban diplomatic mission in Washington, Fernando Remirez.

Entering the State Department on Tuesday afternoon for a meeting, Remirez said the elder Gonzalez's U.S. travel depends on "the assurance he will get temporary custody."

U.S. officials are reviewing 22 additional visa requests, including 12 from Elian's classmates. Remirez said his government believes all visa requests should be approved because the additional 22 compatriots will help facilitate Elian's "recovery" after four months away from home. He stopped short of saying their approval was a precondition for the father's visit.

Remirez lives in a split-level brick home in suburban Maryland near a country club.

EDITOR'S NOTE – State Department reporter George Gedda in Washington and Alex Veiga in Miami contributed to this report.

© 2000 The Associated Press

© 2000 The Washington Post Company

[ BACK TO THE NEWS ]

SECCIONES

NOTICIAS
...Prensa Independiente
...Prensa Internacional
...Prensa Gubernamental

OTHER LANGUAGES
...Spanish
...German
...French

INDEPENDIENTES
...Cooperativas Agrícolas
...Movimiento Sindical
...Bibliotecas
...MCL
...Ayuno

DEL LECTOR
...Letters
...Cartas
...Debate
...Opinión

BUSQUEDAS
...News Archive
...News Search
...Documents
...Links

CULTURA
...Painters
...Photos of Cuba
...Cigar Labels

CUBANET
...Semanario
...About Us
...Informe 1998
...E-Mail


CubaNet News, Inc.
145 Madeira Ave,
Suite 207
Coral Gables, FL 33134
(305) 774-1887