Protests and passion take to the streets
By Sara Olkon, Gail Epstein Nieves And Martin Merzer,merzer@herald.com.
Dissent flowed through Miami streets Thursday, a day after U.S. officials ruled that 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez must return to Cuba. Hundreds of exiles staged hit-and-run protests that blocked major intersections and disrupted traffic deep into the night.
Nearly 100 people were arrested. Several protesters were injured, two by a car that plowed through a crowd Thursday night near Little Havana. One police officer suffered an injured hip when he was hit by another car.
``We lost the street,'' Miami Police Lt. William Schwartz said.
The long day and night of disorder began when demonstrators broke through barricades meant to contain them during a noontime rally at the Claude Pepper Federal Building on Southwest First Avenue, then surged through downtown streets. They chanted, ``¡Libertad! ¡Libertad!''
Thursday night, protests still flared up and down Flagler Street, in other parts of Little Havana and in Hialeah. At one point, hundreds of people streamed north on Le Jeune Road toward Miami International Airport, only to be turned back by a phalanx of police.
One rally persisted for hours at West Flagler and 57th Avenue. Dozens of protesters joined hands, sat down and formed a circle that encompassed the intersection. Some climbed onto roofs and chanted ``Elian! Elian!'' from 20 feet in the air.
Some activists threatened to escalate the action today and in days to come. Authorities issued an explicit warning to them Thursday night.
``Even if you disagree with the decision, you do not have a right to break the law, to take the law into your own hands and infringe on the right of others,'' Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said. ``If you do, you'll be held accountable.''
Among those arrested were activist leaders Ramon Saul Sanchez and Jose Basulto. Their hands were cuffed with white plastic ties. Most were charged with misdemeanors, such as obstruction of justice.
No physical damage was reported, and reports of direct confrontations and injuries were few.
But as night descended, a red car barreled into protesters on Flagler and Le Jeune, catapulting two of them. An ambulance carried both to a hospital. There was no word on their injuries. The driver turned himself in and was detained for questioning. No identifications were available.
``We did a blockade in the road, and the car didn't want to wait,'' said Jorge Martinez, who was standing on the corner. ``He just floored it.''
In addition, Schwartz said an officer was hit by a car at the corner of Southwest Eighth Street and 27th Avenue and suffered an injured hip. The officer was not identified. He was treated at Mercy Hospital and released, police said.
POLICE ON ALERT
Police remained on alert everywhere, particularly around the new AmericanAirlines Arena, site of a Miami Heat-Houston Rockets basketball game and adjacent to an area that attracted demonstrators throughout the day.
``We will maintain a presence until we're sure there won't be any more protests,'' said Ed Munn, a Miami-Dade Police spokesman. ``If we have to stay here all night, we'll stay here all night.''
As the day unfolded, traffic was paralyzed in some areas. Drivers of school buses and public buses tried to reroute themselves around disruptions. Many drivers sat trapped for hours.
Gov. Jeb Bush authorized workers to lift tolls on State Road 836 and other local roads Thursday evening to ease any rush-hour congestion created by the protests. Tolls were expected to be reinstated this morning.
Some exile leaders said the protests would continue until the courts or the Clinton administration reverses the decision by immigration authorities to return young Elian to Cuba by Jan. 14.
``This is going to continue and grow to a higher pitch until we get an answer from the White House,'' said Julio Cabarga, who heads Los Municipios de Cuba en el Exilio. ``Being arrested is a very small price to pay.''
SOME DISAGREE
Many disagreed with that strategy, including some in the exile community.
Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas said he shared the protesters' anger, but he begged them not to block traffic or create other disruptions that punish innocent bystanders.
``I cannot condone nor support any activity that infringes on the rights of others,'' Penelas said.
Hialeah Mayor Raul Martinez: ``We're hurting ourselves. When this gets on national television, what sympathy is the rest of the country going to have?''
Asked about the propriety and strategic wisdom of traffic disruptions, Cabarga said:
``We are not going to apologize. I'm sorry that some people may be a little late for dinner, but if he [Elian] goes back to Cuba, he will not have any dinner.''
As the protests gained momentum, startled downtown motorists found themselves confronted by flag-carrying crowds marching through traffic on busy Flagler Street and Biscayne Boulevard. The protesters came from all walks of life -- professionals, laborers, students, retirees.
Portions of many streets were temporarily closed, often by police seeking to contain large demonstrations that fractured into smaller, mobile protests. Traffic backed up in both directions on the MacArthur Causeway after police blocked exits to Biscayne.
Miami Police said they had difficulty responding quickly because demonstrators blocked at least four intersections within a short time.
But soon, a field force of Miami-Dade police officers, equipped with helmets, plastic shields and other riot gear, gathered on Biscayne near Bayside Marketplace and prevented protesters from occupying the Port of Miami-Dade.
A stable-ful of mounted police joined the effort, which unfolded in the shadow of the Freedom Tower, a processing center for Cubans who entered the United States after Fidel Castro seized control of their country in 1959.
PORT REOPENED
About two hours later, after dozens of people were arrested, that demonstration evaporated. The boulevard and the port entrance reopened.
Most of those arrested bonded out without spending the night behind bars, jail spokeswoman Janelle Hall said.
The day's major action began as about 300 protesters gathered for the downtown rally at the federal building.
Ramiro Menendez of Miami held up a bright yellow sign that said: ``Elian's mother died to save him from Castro; Clinton will reward Castro by sending Elian back. What a shame.''
Jorge Castro of Kendall watched with dismay. He said he was there to measure the size of the crowd, which was smaller than many expected.
``When everyone talks about the Cuban exile community supporting this kid, what are they talking about?'' said Castro, who left Cuba in 1961. ``They may control the Spanish radio stations that try to manipulate everyone with their propaganda, but they don't represent the entire Cuban community
in Miami.''
In any event, small, apparently spontaneous demonstrations arose in many areas.
A half-dozen workers from an on-line financial newspaper gathered at Coral Way and Southwest 32nd Avenue.
Along sections of Southwest Eighth Street, passengers in one of every three or four cars waved Cuban and U.S. flags.
HUNGER STRIKE
Earlier in the day, five men started a hunger strike under a canvas tarpaulin set up near the federal building. Dagoberto Avilez, 64, pledged to drink only water and refuse food until Elian is allowed to remain in the United States.
``I'm here to defend the U.S. Constitution, the law of this country, which President Bill Clinton has violated by his decision to deport Elian Gonzalez,'' Avilez said.
During the morning rush hour, two dump trucks and a pickup truck slowed eastbound traffic on S.R. 836. The Florida Highway Patrol issued $83 citations to drivers slowing traffic and warned them that they could be arrested.
Esteban Asensio, who drove the pickup truck, seemed undaunted.
``What they're doing is immoral, illegal, and the kid needs to have a date in court,'' he said. ``At least I can do something.''
It was that magnitude of passion that worried authorities. Miami Police canceled all days off today, and Miami-Dade Police said they were prepared for more action.
``This is the first day and it's a work day,'' said Carlos Alvarez, director of Miami-Dade Police. ``They've got until the 14th, right?''
Herald staff writers Karen Branch, Anabelle de Gale, Mireidy Fernandez, Manny Garcia, Sonji Jacobs, Allison Klein, Jasmine Kripalani, Marika Lynch, Eunice Ponce, Charles Rabin, Joseph Tanfani, Sabrina Walters, Jay Weaver, David Wilson and Ivette M. Yee contributed to this report.
Pained Cuban exiles disagree on what's best for Elian
By Sara Olkon, Anabelle De Gale And Marika Lynch , mlynch@herald.com.
Oscar Lopez came to the United States on a raft with his two brothers, and the body of his stepfather who died along the way.
Lopez remembered the grueling 1992 voyage on Thursday when he joined the street protests in downtown Miami -- one of hundreds of Cuban Americans whose own family stories fueled their desire to keep 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez in the United States. After the boy's mother died on the sea journey,
his father said he should have custody of Elian back in Cuba. Federal immigration officials have agreed.
Yeni Daniel, 15, came out to protest too, waving a green placard saying ``Back to No Future'' in support of Elian.
The South Miami High student sneaked out of Cuba on a raft with her mother in 1993. Her father didn't learn of the voyage until he heard about it on Radio Marti.
``I was in the exact situation Elian is in,'' Yeni said. ``When he found out, he was mad at first, but then he realized I'm better off here.
``I'm out here today to send Elian's dad a message from someone who really knows.''
Elian's plight has moved many Cubans across Miami-Dade County to join the demonstrations -- including those who came on the Freedom Flights of the 1960s and '70s, and others who came on rafts over the past decade.
But many other Cubans, who also know the pain of family separation, chose to stay away. Their hearts go out to Elian's Miami relatives, who want to keep the boy, but they believe he should be reunited with his father.
After returning home from her night shift job at Miami International Airport, Nelia Perez watched the protests on TV. Perez agreed that Elian belongs with his surviving parent.
``I am a grandmother. I don't know anything about politics, but I know about love and caring, Perez said, choking on tears.
Nearly 32 years ago she brought her daughter to the United States, and left her own mother behind.
``I left my mother there crying and crying and she died because she suffered from this,'' Perez said. ``I will take that to the grave.''
While many protests in the past have united Cuban Americans against Castro, many exiles see Elian's case differently -- because at the heart of it is a little boy, one who recently lost his mother.
``I empathize so much with Elian,'' said attorney Barbara Cusack, who came to Miami on the Freedom Flights. ``When I saw his little face on his first day of school, I was sick to my stomach. It's such an intimidating experience, to face a whole new world.''
Cusack said it was hard to leave her grandparents behind in Cuba.
``I wasn't half as traumatized as that little tyke because I came with my loving mother and two sisters,'' she said.
``But no material gain could ever replace the loss that I experienced. I would hate for him to miss out on his grandparents.''
Herald staff writer Anabelle de Gale contributed to this report.
Hostage-case prisoner gets 55 years
His mom helped end Louisiana jail uprising
By Carol Rosenberg, crosenberg@herald.com.
The Cuban prisoner whose Miami mother mediated a peaceful end to last month's uprising at the St. Martin Parish Jail in Louisiana was sentenced Thursday to serve 55 years in another Louisiana parish jail.
Roberto Villar Grana, 31, was already aboard a Cuba-bound U.S. prison service jet Dec. 20 under the agreement that ended the six-day standoff when he was removed by federal marshals and turned over to local Louisiana authorities.
Thursday, Judge H. Ward Fontenot of the 38th Judicial Court in Cameron Parish sentenced Villar Grana to 40 years in jail for attempted murder of a police officer and 15 years for cocaine possession. Jailer Warner Daigle said by phone that the judge had ordered that sentences be served
consecutively, for a total of 55 years.
The sentences were in connection with a January 1999 conviction for a high-speed car chase near the Texas border. After Villar Grana was apprehended, deputies allegedly found several grams of cocaine in his car.
Villar Grana still faces trial in St. Martin Parish for aggravated kidnapping in the jail revolt. Several Cubans and a Bahamian prisoner used homemade knives to take the warden and other deputies hostage.
All of the Cubans except Villar Grana had served their prison sentences and were being indefinitely warehoused in Louisiana by the immigration service because Cuba generally does not take back deportees.
Havana agreed to the unusual request to take them back to end the standoff in secret contacts between diplomats. The six who were returned were last seen shackled in the custody of Cuban officers in Havana. It is unknown what became of them.
At the end of the uprising, St. Martin Parish Sheriff Charles Fuselier credited Villar Grana's mother, Mercedes Villar, 53, of Miami, as ``instrumental'' in persuading the prisoners to accept an offer of safe-passage to Cuba in exchange for ending the uprising.
Mrs. Villar arrived from Miami just hours before the hostage drama ended -- and vouched for the veracity of a letter from the Justice Department that pledged safe passage to Cuba if the prisoners ended their uprising peacefully. It named her son along with the six other since-returned prisoners.
Mercedes Villar, who immigrated to the U.S. in the Mariel boatlift and got citizenship soon after, said Thursday she was still shattered by the experience, and felt betrayed by her government.
At Christmas she wrote President Clinton, Congress members Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Attorney General Janet Reno and FBI officials asking for an explanation.
None had responded.
``Nobody's talking to me,'' the prisoner's mother said by telephone, sobbing in her Miami home. ``It's like I disappeared, like I am nothing.''
Cuba cancels visit by newspaper editorial writers
Herald Staff Report
Cuba has canceled a visit by 38 U.S. newspaper editorial writers in retaliation for The Herald's coverage of Cuba's earlier refusal to grant a visa to a Herald editorial writer as part of the delegation.
Members of the National Conference of Editorial Writers (NCEW) delegation scheduled to visit Cuba Jan. 23-30 were advised of the cancellation Thursday in an e-mail message signed by trip leader Bob Kittle of The San Diego Union-Tribune and Dave Hage, of The Minneapolis Star-Tribune, chairman of
the group's international affairs committee.
``The NCEW's planned trip to Cuba later this month has been canceled after the Cuban government said it would deny visas to all 38 members of the NCEW delegation,'' the message said. ``The Castro government took the action after The Miami Herald published a news story and editorial regarding
Cuba's earlier refusal to allow a Herald editorial writer to take part in the trip.''
Kittle said he had been notified of the cancellation this week by a representative of the Cuban government who cited three reasons:
The Herald's effort to join the trip.
A statement by Hage to a Herald reporter expressing the NCEW's disappointment that Cuba had denied The Herald a visa.
Concern by Cuban authorities that NCEW members were making ``parallel'' reporting arrangements, with assistance from the U.S. State Department, separate from the official briefings arranged by the Cuban government.
Tom Fiedler, Herald editorial page editor, said Thursday that The Herald had attempted ``from the beginning to reassure all of [the delegation members] that we didn't want the Cuban government's problems with this newspaper to in any way interfere with their opportunity to evaluate firsthand the
results of 41 years of Castroism.''
``Although it was against our wishes,'' Fiedler said, ``many of them urged that NCEW cancel the trip entirely, arguing that to allow the Cuban government to select who could participate was a dangerous precedent.
``So it's ironic that the Castro government preempted that debate by canceling the visas of our colleagues seemingly out of its irritation over those protests. That act describes more eloquently than words the Cuban government's contempt for the free press,'' Fiedler said.
Kittle and Hage, in their message Thursday to delegation members, called such a ``last-minute reversal of this kind by a foreign government . . . unprecedented in NCEW experience.''
The Herald had submitted a visa application for Susana Barciela, a Cuban-American member of The Herald's editorial board, to participate in the delegation, and offered Fiedler as an alternate.
Hage, in comments to The Herald that were cited as among the reasons for the trip's cancellation, said the group was ``very frustrated and disappointed'' and that the rejection would ``absolutely be an issue of discussion in some form'' when delegation members met with Cuban officials.
A Dec. 28 Herald editorial on the rejection asked in a headline: What is Castro Afraid Of?
The editorial called the rejection ``another example of the Castro regime's determination to try to control the flow of information from the island by selecting who can report it.''
On Thursday, Herald Publisher Alberto Ibargüen issued the following statement:
``Fidel Castro is a dictator. Nothing better illustrates how totalitarians act than when they're subjected to inquiry by a free press: They shut everything down so they can control totally. This ham-handed refusal to let open-minded editorial writers have a peek inside their closed society is
typical of this regime. People who believe in democracy, yet romanticize the revolutionary Castro, should remember this incident.''
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