Lawyers for Elian's Miami relatives crafting response to Justice ultimatum

March 27, 2000
Web posted at: 2:27 a.m. EST (0727 GMT)

In this story: Lawyers say they will make deadline Castro says relatives have lost battle RELATED STORIES, SITES

MIAMI (CNN) -- Lawyers representing the Florida relatives of Cuban boy Elian Gonzalez were planning on working through Sunday night to meet a noon Monday deadline imposed by the Justice Department.

Unless the lawyers promise to meet the ultimatum set by the Justice Department, 6-year-old Elian's temporary parole status will be revoked on Thursday, setting the stage for him to be returned to Cuba.

"We will work day and night to meet the briefing schedule, if we have to," attorney Linda Osberg-Braun told CNN.

VIDEO CNN's Susan Candiotti reports on the legal battle over Elian Gonzalez. (March 26) QuickTime Play Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K     RESOURCES Who's who in the Elian Gonzalez case

The attorneys said they've broken up into teams concentrating on various aspects of their response to the government and plan to work all night and reconvene Monday morning.

Lawyers say they will make deadline

They said they will make the deadline established by the Justice Department -- and are willing to meet a briefing schedule that calls for them to file the first part of their appeal with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta by April 3rd and a response by April 10th.

The lawyers said they're planning on holding a news conference around noon on Monday.

Sunday night, attorney Spencer Eig and the family's spokesman Armando Gutierrez met with the boy's relatives in their home to brief them about the legal team's work.

"They're very emotionally drained," said Osberg-Braun.

Castro says relatives have lost battle

Cuba's President Fidel Castro said during a speech Sunday night that Elian's Miami relatives had lost their battle to keep the boy in the United States.

"The Cuban mafia has lost," he said.

Osberg-Braun said she had no information about what Elian said during an interview with ABC scheduled to air Monday morning.

Castro said sources told him the boy would denounce his father Juan Miguel during the interview.

The Cuban leader said having the boy participate in an interview was "monstrous and sickening."

When asked whether the family would turn the boy over if they lost all appeals, Osberg-Braun replied, "The family will obey the law."

Correspondent Susan Candiotti contributed to this report.

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U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service
U.S. Department of Justice
Democracia Info Page
LibertyForElian.org - Foundation to Help Save Elian
Granma Internacional Digital, Cuba
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Cubaweb
Cuban American National Foundation

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