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Castro's canny move ups the ante on Elian

March 30, 2000
Web posted at: 10:03 AM EST (1503 GMT)

By Tony Karon

(TIME.com) -- The Elian Gonzalez case has always been an extension of the battle between Fidel Castro and his foes in Miami, and now the aging Cuban dictator hopes to set up his adversaries for a knockout. As the Immigration and Naturalization Service on Wednesday delayed its move to revoke great-uncle Lazaro Gonzalez's temporary custody of the 6-year-old -- pending further negotiations over an agreement to hand the boy over for repatriation if Lazaro loses his appeal -- Castro announced that the boy's father was ready to fly to the United States at a moment's notice and take custody of Elian during the appeal process.

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Castro said Juan Miguel Gonzalez would be accompanied by a large entourage comprising his wife and 6-month-old son, a phalanx of Cuban minders, mental health professionals, Elian's first grade teachers and even 12 of his classmates. He said that the group would wait out the appeal process in the United States, but required a guarantee from the U.S. government that Juan Miguel would be given custody of Elian.

Havana's latest move may be designed to pull the rug out from under Lazaro Gonzalez and his supporters, whose campaign to keep Elian in Miami has built a new head of steam in response to the INS ultimatum. Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Miami Wednesday night in a peaceful show of support as Lazaro Gonzalez met with INS officials but maintained his refusal to sign an agreement. His activist backers, as well as Miami area mayors, have warned of a violent backlash if the government attempts to remove Elian from Lazaro's home, while three senators moved Wednesday to preempt the INS by making the 6-year-old a permanent resident.

But Elian's great-uncle has maintained for the past four months that he would hand the boy over to Juan Miguel if he came to Miami to fetch his son, arguing that Elian's father was not free to express his true mind in Castro's Cuba. Sending Juan Miguel over would call Lazaro's bluff, and also make it difficult for the U.S. government to sustain his claim to temporary custody over Elian, since Washington recognizes Juan Miguel Gonzalez as Elian's legal guardian. Then again, Juan Miguel's lawyer, Greg Craig, remains he won't come to the United States until he's guaranteed custody of his son. And there's no telling whether Washington is either willing or able to offer that guarantee.

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