By Sheila R. Cherry, Timothy W. Maier and Diana Ray. Insight Magazine News Alert! May 11, 2000
If or when Elian Gonzalez returns to Cuba, he no doubt will see the newest state monument, which was dedicated on his sixth birthday
A staunch, 19th-century anti-imperialist, Martí is revered for his patriotic poetry filled with images of the promise and destiny of the Cuban people as they struggled to break the 400-year rule of Spain. The statue shows him embracing a small child — reportedly meant to
depict his young son — that one observer reports to news alert! "suspiciously looks like Elian."
The plaza reportedly has a seating capacity of 10,500 people, with standing room for 30,000. It has been equipped with a modern sound and light system and includes supplemental seating for 100,000 of the party faithful in the overflow area around the plaza.
What About Justice for All the Cuban Kids?
While the mainstream press has been obsessed with the Elian Gonzalez tug-of-war story, the plight of another Cuban parent who survived the capsized boat along with Elian in that tragic journey has been all but ignored. Until now.
News alert! has learned that survivor Arianne Horta also is waiting to be reunited with her daughter, Estefani, just as Elian's father waits to be reunited with his son. Only this parent is in Miami while her 6-year-old daughter remains in Cuba with a grandparent. Unfortunately, unlike
Elian, the daughter does not have the support and power of public notoriety or political posturing from lawmakers demanding the daughter be reunited with her mother. The Immigration and Naturalization Service has had Horta's petition for asylum nearly three months now. Until it is processed and
residency established, her daughter cannot request a "release" from Cuba.
Horta, the sole female survivor of the fateful boat crossing with Elian, initially placed her daughter on the rickety boat but decided to return the child to shore after the engine failed. She since has been on a lonely mission to retrieve her child. All the paperwork and petitioning has
been completed to get a visa for the daughter to join her, but the State Department says a visa cannot be granted by the U.S. Interests Section in Havana until the child has been "released" by the Cuban government.
Unfortunately, according to Sylvia Iriondo at Mothers Against Repression in Miami, many families have waited years to be reunited with other family members who have not been allowed to leave Cuba.
Meanwhile, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro pushes little Elian's classmates, neighbors and other protesters to argue that keeping Elian separated from his father is unjust. At the same time, Castro's justice allows Horta to be separated from her child, who may be trapped in Cuba forever.
Payback for Elian
Disagree with the federal government about the Elian Gonzalez case and there may be a price to pay. News alert! has learned Elian's relatives in Miami have had their lives threatened and their financial and personal backgrounds intruded into by some believed to be supporters of the effort
to return Elian.
And so it should come as no surprise that the Florida family-court judge who issued a controversial ruling granting custody of Elian to his great-uncle in January has been indicted on a charge of illegally accepting a $200,000 campaign contribution.
Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Rosa Rodriguez bucked the Department of Justice with her widely criticized decision awarding temporary custody of the 6-year-old to his great-uncle, Lazaro Gonzalez. Attorney General Janet Reno strongly disagreed with the ruling and sought a federal court
order shortly afterward which said the state did not have jurisdiction in this case.
Rodriguez, a Yale Law School graduate charged with illegally accepting and failing to report a campaign contribution, denies any criminal intent. She claims the $200,000 was a perfectly legal loan from her brother that she inadvertently omitted to list on financial-disclosure forms. If
convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of one year in jail.
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