By Karen DeYoung and Sylvia Moreno. Washington Post Staff Writers. Wednesday, April 19, 2000; Page A04
The first allegations that the Elian Gonzalez controversy has come to blows between the Cuban government and those trying to keep the 6-year-old away from it were made yesterday, as all concerned spent a fourth anxious day awaiting a federal court decision in the custody case.
The D.C. police department yesterday said it was investigating allegations made by a group of demonstrators who said they were assaulted by Cuban diplomats on the sidewalk outside the Cuban Interests Section on 16th Street NW on Friday evening. The Clinton administration has demanded an
explanation for the incident from Cuba; Cuba has demanded that local law enforcement provide better protection.
In Miami, a crowd of protesters continuing their vigil outside the Little Havana home of Lazaro Gonzalez, Elian's great-uncle, was swept repeatedly by rumors that federal officials were on their way to pick up the boy. But government officials said they would honor their agreement with the 11th
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta to wait for its ruling on one of the issues in the case before moving to reunite Elian with his Cuban father.
The last legal briefs were submitted Friday night; officials had expected a decision by Monday.
In Washington, Secret Service spokesman John Tomlinson said the Friday incident occurred about 7:30 p.m., when "a group of individuals that exited the Interests Section itself came outside and apparently had a verbal altercation" with demonstrators.
"That verbal altercation escalated," he said. "Uniform division officers that were on site . . . interceded and separated the parties and reestablished control." Tomlinson said no arrests were made and there were no injuries reported at the time. But he said the response of
officers on the scene was being reviewed by headquarters.
Sgt. Joe Gentile, a D.C. police spokesman, confirmed that Third District detectives also were investigating the incident as a simple assault to "see if there is enough evidence or information available to obtain an arrest warrant."
As word of the incident spread over the weekend, Cuban American advocates of the Miami relatives began to call for action. On Monday, Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas wrote to Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright to demand that the United States "forcefully protest" to the Cuban
government. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) wrote yesterday to both Albright and FBI Director Louis J. Freeh requesting "a fair review of the incident."
Miami Mayor Joe Carollo flew to Washington to spotlight the action of what he called common criminals shielded by diplomatic immunity. In a news conference across the street from the Cuban Interests Section yesterday, Carollo said he also came to defend South Florida's Cuban Americans, who he
said had been unfairly characterized by the news media as violence-prone and politically incorrect.
Four of the demonstrators appeared with Carollo to describe the scuffle as unprovoked. Estrella Carie Noda, who said she is a federal employee in Key West, Fla., said she was "tossed into the air. I was pummeled."
Catholic University law school student Mauricio Claver-Carone said he was punched twice in the face and hit in the chest and that his portable bullhorn was taken from him and smashed to the sidewalk.
"I had been speaking on the mike. We were speaking not out of hate . . . we were speaking out of love and fraternity," he said. "We did not touch; we did not shove."
An administration official said the State Department had demanded an explanation during a meeting this morning with Cuban diplomats, who were told "this was a very serious matter."
Interests Section spokesman Luis Fernandez said that "elements hostile to our country" had been "performing provocative acts against the integrity and dignity of our diplomat mission" and had "thrown objects through our fence and also insulted our women and children."
Fernandez declined to describe the actions of the Cubans involved or to identify them.
Staff writer Sue Anne Pressley and special correspondent Catharine Skipp in Miami contributed to this report. |