CUBANET ... CUBANEWS

April 22, 2000



A minute by minute account of Elian's removal from Little Havana

By Rui Ferreira. El Nuevo Herald

Within two minutes early this morning, Elian Gonzalez was quickly removed from his uncle's Little Havana home in a tightly coordinated operation led by twenty Border Patrol and INS agents.

Screaming and crying, Elian was quickly removed from the home in the arms of a female INS agent and placed in a white van.

The seizure began at 5:07 this morning when four tagless white vans with dark windows pulled into NW 22 St in Little Havana and came to a screeching halt in front of the Gonzalez home.

Even before the vans came to a full stop, agents jumped out holding batons and rifles and wearing vests and helmets. While some agents held the press and protesters at bay with tear gas, the rest cut the garden fence with special tools and broke down the front door with a battering ram.

Shortly after, a female agent carrying the child emerged from the home and placed him in the van while four agents formed a secure perimeter around the pair.

The 50 or so exiles who were located in front of the home reacted as soon as the van began to pull away.

Pandemonium began immediately, as the exiles threw bottles and sticks at the agents who remained in front of the home and also at Miami police officers who had been guarding the home.

Various patrol car windows were shattered by thrown bottles as police officers fled from the advancing protesters, most of whom were young.

At that time, Lazaro and Delfin Gonzalez reached the garden of their home. Lazaro cried because of the tear gas used by the agents while inside the home. Delfin screamed at the Miami police officers who were in front of the home.

"Traitors! There is no democracy in this country!," screamed Delfin, a 63-year old fisherman.

His cry provoked a chain reaction among the exiles, who also began to scream "Traitors!" at the officers.

Thirty minutes later, Miami mayor Joe Carollo arrived at the home and was greeted angrily by the exiles. "You betrayed us. Where were Miami police?," they cried.

Carollo was protected by reporters and exiles as the crowd surged toward him menacingly.

"I wasn't warned of this. I'm as surprised as you," he yelled back.

The mayor said he did not know why the police did not intervene. Three weeks ago, twelve Miami-area mayors provoked anger amid the federal administration when they stated publicly that they would blame Janet Reno for any disturbances caused by a seizure of Elian.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas was booed by protesters as he arrived at the home to speak with the Gonzalez family.

When police officers arrived at the home, Elian was sleeping near his cousin Marisleysis. Upon hearing the outside commotion, Donato Darymple, the fisherman who had rescued Elian at sea in November and was in an adjoining room, grabbed Elian and hid with him in a closet.

An armed agent found them and ripped Elian from the fisherman's arms, passing him immediately to a female agent who carried him out of the home.

Thirty minutes later, Marisleysis Gonzalez writhed in pain on the dining room floor of the home as she saw images of the seizure on television.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh... look at how they're taking him," she screamed. Her father Lazaro cried at her side.

Darymple attempted to comfort Marisleysis, who had been a surrogate mother for the child for five months. Crying, he said: "Look at me. He is still your family. This is only a temporary situation."

At that moment, the federal government announced that Elian was in a plane headed toward Andrews Air Force Base and a meeting with his father.

Copyright 2000 Miami Herald

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