Elian's grandmothers, Mariela Quintana de Gonzalez, top, and Raquel Rodriguez were granted visas to enter the United States

January 20, 2000
Web posted at: 6:14 p.m. EST (2314 GMT)

In this story: Grandmothers may get subpoenas instead of boy Reno: 'Does child no good to be in limbo' Attorney general calls for careful thought on dispute RELATED STORIES, SITES

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. State Department announced Thursday the two grandmothers of 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez plan to fly to the United States on Friday and that New York City is the likely destination.

In Havana, sources said the two women, Mariela Quintana de Gonzalez and Raquel Rodriguez, have received their visas to come to the United States. The documents were picked up late Thursday at the U.S. Interests Section in Cuba.

Officials of the National Council of Churches headed to Cuba on Thursday, apparently to pick up the women and bring them to the United States.

U.S. and airport officials confirmed the small plane carrying the delegation left Kennedy Airport in New York slightly behind schedule, and Cuban officials said they were awaiting its arrival in Havana.

The church group was led by outgoing council president Joan Brown Campbell, making her second trip to Cuba in less than a month as an intermediary in the dispute over Elian's custody..

Elian's father in Cuba, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, has asked the church group to act as an intermediary in the case. He has refused to travel to the United States, citing fears about his safety.

MESSAGE BOARD US/Cuba relations

State Department spokesman James Rubin told reporters Wednesday the women could come to the United States if they want to, but the government cannot guarantee they will not be subpoenaed for a federal court hearing on a petition filed by Elian's Miami relatives seeking political asylum for him.

Earlier, the grandmothers had insisted they would not come without a no-subpoena guarantee. But Cuban sources told CNN on Thursday the grandmothers have backed off that demand.

Elian has been caught in a custody tug-of-war between his father and grandmothers in Cuba and his relatives in Miami ever since the boy was found floating in the waters off Florida about two months ago.

Justice Department sources in Washington said Elian would not be free to return to Cuba until the asylum case is litigated, unless the families can somehow resolve their differences outside of court.

One Justice Department official said the U.S. government is in no position to guarantee to the grandmothers that they would be able to take custody of the boy.

Meanwhile in Miami, the boy's great-uncle, Lazaro Gonzalez, who was granted temporary custody in a state court, said Elian missed school Thursday because of a stomach ache.

Attorney General Janet Reno, who has backed the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service in its decision that the boy should be returned to his father in Cuba, told her weekly news briefing Thursday:

"I always try to put things in terms of the human beings involved, and right now this is about one little boy. It is also about the bond between the parent and child. It is also about people's strong feelings against tyranny."

Reno also said she hopes the "passion" surrounding the custody case can be put aside, allowing the fate of the young boy to be resolved quickly in accordance with federal law.

"It does the child no good to be in limbo," Reno said, one day after attorneys for the boy's great-uncle went to federal court in Miami to challenge the INS ruling that Elian must to be returned to his father in Cuba.

The legal team filed a lawsuit accusing the INS of violating Elian's due process rights and asked the judge to prevent the agency from returning the boy before it gives him an asylum hearing.

No hearing date was immediately set, and Reno did not specify what kind of follow-up the government would make. "I want to respond as soon as possible, consistent with appropriate preparation," Reno told reporters in Washington.

Many legal experts insist that Elian's U.S. relatives have no legal standing because their rights do not supersede those of his father, his closest next-of-kin. His maternal and paternal grandparents also live in Cuba.

Elian has been living with his Miami relatives since he was rescued on November 25 by the Coast Guard while clinging to an inner tube in the Atlantic off the Florida coast. His mother and stepfather were among 10 people who drowned fleeing Cuba.

Elian was among three survivors. The question of where he will live -- in the United States or in Cuba -- has prompted vociferous demonstrations in both Cuba and among Cuban-Americans in Miami.

His legal fate has drawn international attention and strained U.S.-Cuban relations. Congress has considered intervening, and the topic has become fodder for White House candidates.

"I don't think passion is the appropriate response," Reno said. "I think careful, deliberate thought about how the law should be executed is the way we should approach this."

State Department Correspondent Andrea Koppel contributed to this report.

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