December 16, 1999
Web posted at: 9:06 p.m. EST (0206 GMT)

In this story: Out of the spotlight on Thursday Castro interview broadcast RELATED STORIES, SITES

From staff and wire reports

MIAMI (CNN) -- U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno said Thursday that she hopes the Immigration and Naturalization Service will decide soon whether 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez will stay in the United States or be returned to Cuba.

VIDEO Correspondent Mark Potter reports from Miami on 6-year old Elian Gonzalez as immigration officials consider whether the child should stay in the United States or be returned to Cuba Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K     MESSAGE BOARD US/Cuba relations

"When you think of all that he's been through, getting him situated where he should be situated, where he knows that he can pursue a future, is very important," said Reno. "And I would hope it would be before the end of the year."

Meanwhile, some people think the boy has become a pawn in a struggle between the United States and Cuba.

Elian was rescued from the Atlantic Ocean on November 25 after a boat carrying Cuban immigrants sank off the Florida coast. His mother was among 10 people aboard the boat who died in the shipwreck.

Elian's father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, is divorced from Elian's mother and was not aboard the boat. He met with U.S. immigration officials in Havana on Monday to press his case for Elian to be returned to Cuba.

The boy's relatives in Florida are lobbying to keep the child so he can grow up in the United States.

Out of the spotlight on Thursday

The decision follows a visit on Wednesday to a school in the Little Havana section of Miami that offered a scholarship to Elian.

Surrounded by photographers at the school, the boy appeared unsure and timid as adults led children in chanting his name. The attention soon got out of control, and a family spokesman ordered the media to back off.

"Let the kid have some room here," said the spokesman. "If not, everybody's going to get out of this place. You almost knocked him down. Come on, everyone out. Everyone, the press, all the way to the back; we'll give you room. Right now, let's go."

Such events have raised questions about what is best for Elian and whether his case is being exploited by Cuban President Fidel Castro and the Cuban-American exile community to advance their own agendas.

Castro interview broadcast

"We hope the Castro regime does not continue with their declarations about the boy and their massive protests, because that brings more of an interest on behalf of the media," said Lehtinen. Massive demonstrations in Havana for Elian's return to Cuba have ceased.

But Castro said in a television interview broadcast Wednesday that he feared the boy's Cuban-American guardians in the United States were trying to manipulate Elian and "dazzle" him with toys and outings such as a weekend trip to Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom theme park in Florida.

"Time matters here," Castro said. He expressed concern that the longer Elian stays in the United States, the harder it would be for him to readapt to life in Cuba.

Elian's relatives in Miami say he is a political refugee who would have a better life with them and should stay in the United States.

Reno, who will review the INS decision, said she wants the agony to follow the law, the facts and make the right decision.

Correspondent Mark Potter and Reuters contributed to this report.

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