April 23, 2000. CNN. Web posted at: 2:35 p.m. EDT (1835 GMT). From staff and wire reports
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Two Miami relatives of Elian Gonzalez on Sunday disputed the authenticity of a photograph that shows a smiling Elian Gonzalez being held by his Cuban father after their reunion Saturday. Both the government's top immigration official and the lawyer representing Elian's
father, however, insisted that the photograph is genuine.
"That picture that they showed with the father, that is not Elian. That hair is not Elian's," Marisleysis Gonzalez, the boy's cousin, said in a tearful and protracted appearance at a news conference in Washington, shown live on American television. "This is not Elian smiling."
Gregory Craig, a lawyer who represents Elian's father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, said on CNN's "Late Edition" that the accusation that the photo had been faked was "absurd." He said he had seen Elian at ease and happy with his father, as depicted in the photo.
Allegation by cousin and great-uncle
Saying she had given Elian a haircut three days ago, Marisleysis claimed that his hair in the photo appears longer than in a dramatic photo taken earlier Saturday, when federal agents raided her Miami home to retrieve the boy.
The earlier photo shows an armed federal agent confronting a crying Elian in the arms of Donato Dalrymple, one of two men who rescued him from the sea off Florida on November 25. Elian and Dalrymple are shown backed into a bedroom closet.
Referring to the reunion picture, Elian's great-uncle, Lazaro Gonzalez, said: "It's very clear. The photo is not real." He spoke in Spanish in response to a reporter's question during the news conference.
Asked whether he, too, believed that the photograph had been doctored, U.S. Senator Bob Smith, a New Hampshire Republican who organized the news conference, shrugged and said: "I have no idea."
But U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner Doris Meissner said she was nearby when the picture was taken and does not believe the photo was doctored.
"I'm sure it's an authentic photo but I can't tell you that I saw it taken," Meissner said Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation."
Plea to see Elian
Appearing angry and anguished, Marisleysis, who says she was Elian's primary caretaker during his five-month stay in Miami, repeatedly and passionately accused the federal government of child abuse.
Referring to the 5 a.m. raid in which armed federal agents took Elian from Lazaro's Miami home, Marisleysis said the agents trashed the house, pointed guns at other children inside, kicked a television cameraman and ordered her to "give me the damn boy."
Marisleysis repeated her plea to see Elian. Family members were turned away Saturday when they tried to visit Elian at Andrews Air Force Base, shortly after he was returned to his father.
"I think I have the right to see this boy," she said. "I will not leave until I see this boy."
Craig said it would be difficult to hold a family reunion in such an emotionally charged atmosphere.
"I would urge the relatives in Miami, if they truly want to get back together with Juan Miguel and his family, that they give me a call and let's talk about timing," Craig said. "Let's discuss this in a civilized way, rather than having national press conferences where demands are
made."
Smith: 'Violent abuse of power'
Smith, the Republican senator, said he was ashamed of his government's action and his party's inaction in the treatment of the Miami family.
"What happened yesterday was not the rule of law, ... it was a violent abuse of power," Smith said of Saturday's raid. "What happened yesterday morning was an armed assault on an innocent family."
Despite the Miami family's accusations of violence, White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart said a "minimum level of force" was used. He said members of the Gonzalez family in Miami "openly said they would not follow the law."
Elian spending time with his father
Elian, meanwhile, apparently spent Easter with his father, his stepmother Nercy and 6-month-old half-brother Hianny at the air base. The family made no public appearances Sunday morning.
Craig said earlier that the Cuban family would stay at the base for a couple of days of quiet time before moving to another location.
Elian was seized on authority of the U.S. Department of Justice, which ruled that the boy's Cuban father was his legal guardian, instead of his Cuban-American relatives in Miami. The Miami relatives fiercely oppose Cuban leader Fidel Castro and want Elian to remain in the United States.
Elian's fate, however, remains unsettled. The courts ultimately will rule on whether the boy should stay in the United States. A federal appeals court, scheduled to hear the case May 11, is expected to rule on whether Elian may file for political asylum.
Protests in three states
CNN's Brian Cabell reported that Miami was calm Sunday morning, a day after Cuban-American supporters of Elian's Miami family took to the streets to protest the government's seizure of Elian.
The raid, dubbed by the federal government "Operation Reunion," took just minutes to complete. It started about 5 a.m. Saturday, when federal agents in riot gear kicked in the door of Lazaro's house, grabbed Elian from Dalrymple, wrapped the crying child in a blanket and dashed away
with him in a white van. The boy was flown by government jet to Maryland.
Once word spread that Elian had been taken, protesters crowded the streets around the Gonzalez home. Some demonstrators started street fires and struggled with police carrying batons and shields. More than 290 people were arrested.
About 300 demonstrators angered by Elian's seizure also caused trouble in New Jersey, when their highway march blocked traffic for 20 minutes in front of the vital Lincoln Tunnel connecting New Jersey with New York. Protesters also marched near the United Nations in Manhattan, and at the Cuban
Mission there. No arrests were reported.
Elian was rescued as he was clinging to an inner tube off the Florida coast last November 25. His mother and 10 others drowned when their boat sank while trying to reach the United States from Cuba. In addition to Elian, two others survived.
Correspondents Brian Cabell and Kate Snow and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Elian's Miami relatives turned away from meeting with father
April 22, 2000. Web posted at: 8:06 p.m. EDT (0006 GMT)
From staff and wire reports
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Just hours after Elian Gonzalez was snatched away from his Miami relatives' home in a pre-dawn raid by armed U.S. immigration agents, members of the boy's Miami family and Sen. Bob Smith were turned away after trying to enter Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, where the boy is
staying with his father.
Earlier Saturday, the Miami relatives had met with Smith at his Capitol Hill offices. The topic of dicussion at that meeting was not immediately available.
Sen. Smith, R-New Hampshire, is familiar with Elian's case. Last January 8, he visited the Miami family's Little Havana home to offer his support. During that visit he said Elian approached him and asked him in Spanish to help him remain in the United States.
U.S. immigration agents seized 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez from the home of his Miami relatives in a forceful but peaceful pre-dawn raid Saturday.
Authorities said removal of the boy -- at 5 a.m. EDT after a night of failed negotiations between the relatives and Attorney General Janet Reno -- took no more than three to four minutes and he was whisked to a van outside with little interference.
Lazaro, Delfin and Marisleysis Gonzalez arrived in the nation's capital Saturday afternoon. Not far away, at Andrews Air Force Base in suburban Maryland, Elian and his father Juan Miguel Gonzalez were spending their first day together in nearly five months.
Justice Department officials said they would not try to block any meeting between the Miami relatives and Juan Gonzalez, and that whether such a meeting occurred would be up to Elian's father.
The 6-year-old boy was said to be "at ease" and laughing following his reunion with his father Saturday at the air force base.
"He was laughing with his little brother Hianny, he was hugging his father," said Gregory Craig, a lawyer representing Juan Gonzalez. "He was totally at ease." Craig said he did not witness the reunion.
"I saw Juan Miguel and Elian within minutes afterward as they got out of the car and came to the location where they're going to be staying for the next couple of days on the air force base," he said. "It was clear that there was huge relief on Juan Miguel's face and a wonderful
smile and ... comfortable physical contact between Elian and his father."
The lawyer said he saw no evidence that Elian had been traumatized by the morning's experience. "I saw no evidence that this person had gone through a traumatic experience."
"The early evidence is that Elian is in good shape, he's a strong boy," he said.
Craig also said the connection between father and son was evident at the meeting. "When you see the two of them together, you realize that by keeping them apart something terrible was done."
Father, son and family in seclusion
Sources told CNN that Elian will stay secluded with his father for a few days at Andrews Air Force Base for what federal authorities referred to as quiet time. His stepmother and half-brother are with Juan Miguel Gonzalez.
U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno said the family eventually will be moved to another location, but not to the home where Juan Miguel Gonzalez had been staying -- the Bethesda, Maryland, home of Cuba's top diplomat in the United States.
Cuban officials told CNN the family will move "outside of the spotlight" -- to give them a chance to bond.
Agents whisk Elian away
In Miami, about 200 demonstrators threw rocks at police, set tires and rubbish containers on fire and trashed a bus stop in a business district of Little Havana Saturday afternoon to protest the forced separation of Elian Gonzalez from his Miami relatives.
Elian was taken away from the home of great-uncle, Lazaro Gonzalez, in a 5 a.m. raid Reno had authorized minutes earlier.
Agents wearing jackets that said INS (for U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service) or the words Border Patrol on them surrounded the Gonzalez's Little Havana home about 5 a.m. The agents broke down a chain-link fence, knocked on the door, then kicked it in when nobody answered.
Elian was found in a closet in the arms of Donato Dalrymple, one of the fishermen who rescued him from the Atlantic Ocean on Thanksgiving Day.
Photos taken by an Associated Press photographer inside the home during the raid showed a helmeted agent wearing goggles holding a rifle and reaching for Elian. Agents took Elian out of Dalrymple's arms.
Reno defended the use of arms and said her office had received reports of weapons in the home.
"When law enforcement goes into a situation like that, it must be prepared for the unexpected," Reno said.
Reno said eight agents entered the home, including a Spanish-speaking female agent who had been given specific instructions on what to say to the boy. There were about 130 agents outside the house as backup. Reno said the raid lasted about three minutes.
News crews videotaped the female agent running from the home with Elian in her arms. They got into a white van and drove away.
"This has been a very emotional case for everyone involved," Reno said. "The most important thing is that Elian is safe and that no one was seriously hurt."
Authorities said Elian was forcibly removed from his great- uncle's home after the Miami family and the government failed to agree on a way to voluntarily turn over the child.
Negotiations had gone into the wee hours of the morning, officials said.
"Up until the last, we tried every way we could to encourage Lazaro Gonzalez to voluntarily hand over the child to his father," said Reno. "Unfortunately, the Miami relatives rejected our efforts, leaving us no other option but the enforcement action."
President Clinton said he supported Reno's handling of the case.
"The law has been upheld, and that was the right thing to do," he said outside the White House. "I hope with time and support, Elian and his father will have the opportunity to be a strong family again."
Elian staying in U.S. for now
Juan Miguel Gonzalez came to the United States on April 6 with his wife and their 6-month-old son. He had repeatedly asked to be reunited with Elian.
Craig said now that the two have been reunited, both would remain in the United States while the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta decides whether Elian should get the asylum hearing requested by his Miami relatives.
The court has set a May 11 hearing on the asylum request and has issued an injunction barring the child from leaving the United States in the interim.
"Juan Miguel is an honorable man. He has given his word. He will stay in the United States so long as the appeals process is under way," Craig said.
Reno also said Elian and his father would stay in the United States for now.
"In accordance with the court of appeals ruling, we will take every step necessary to ensure that Elian does not leave the country while the court of appeals injunction is in place." The court has issued an injunction forbidding Elian from leaving the country while his appeal is under
consideration.
Miami family distraught
"I thought this was a country of freedom," said Marisleysis Gonzalez, the 21-year-old woman who has cared for Elian since his rescue. "Now they've really done the harm ... they have really psychologically (hurt Elian)."
"It was one of the most disgraceful moments for our system and our government that I can recall," said Kendall Coffey, attorney for Elian's Miami relatives. "It was an hour of shame ... of betrayal of a child."
Elian has been staying with his Miami family since he was rescued off the coast of Florida by Dalrymple and another fisherman on November 25. The boy had floated on an inner tube for more 50 hours after a small aluminum boat carrying a group of Cuban immigrants to the United States overturned.
Elian's mother and 10 others drowned. In addition to Elian, two adults survived.
In the hours after Elian was taken from Miami, protesters packed the streets around Lazaro Gonzalez's Little Havana home.
The protests outside the Miami home were peaceful, with some demonstrators holding hands and praying. But by midday, protesters had set a fire in an intersection in a business district a few blocks away in the heart of Little Havana, burning tires, posters and a trash bin.
Miami police officers in riot gear fired tear gas to break up the crowd and stood elbow-to-elbow to keep protesters back while firefighters put out the blaze.
News video showed several protesters being taken into custody.
Cuba quiet after reunion
The State Department said Saturday there has been no official communication between the U.S. and Cuban governments since Elian was reunited with his father.
Two State Department officials told CNN that no Cuban officials in Washington or in Havana has called or asked for a meeting.
In Cuba, word that Elian had been taken from his Miami family was broadcast in a series of announcements on Cuban radio Saturday morning.
Cuban television also showed images of the raid on the Gonzalez house.
But the Cuban government issued a statement urging Cubans to remain calm. The radio report said the government did not want to see any celebrations because those images might be transmitted by to the United States and negatively affect the ongoing legal proceedings over Elian.
Correspondents Mark Potter, Patty Davis, Martin Savidge, Susan Candiotti, Brian Cabell and Justice Department Correspondent Pierre Thomas and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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