Reno Gives Father No Set Time for Elian’s Return

Atty. Gen. Janet Reno told the father of Elian Gonzalez on Friday that she has made no decision on whether to send law enforcement officials into a small Miami home in Little Havana and forcibly take the boy.

“I told him that I could not commit to a particular course of action or timetable,” she said, a clear signal that she is still grappling with the best method for ending an international impasse.

In addition, with fears mounting both here and in Miami that the moment is near for federal agents to act, the White House strongly emphasized that other options still are being considered short of a physical confrontation at the home where Elian is living with his father’s uncle, Lazaro Gonzalez.

Large crowds have been gathering there every day to support the Miami family’s stand that Elian should stay with them. The boy’s father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, came to this country earlier this month to reclaim his son and take him back home to Cuba.

On Friday, third-party negotiators in Miami were working with Reno to come up with an agreement that calls for the immediate transfer of Elian to his father, said Justice Department spokeswoman Carole Florman. She said that the intermediaries are members of the Miami community but declined to further identify them.

The intermediaries have been in contact with the Miami relatives, but their plan had not been presented to Juan Miguel Gonzalez, Florman said.

Options Include Meeting, Court Order

Other alternatives range from convincing the two sides to meet behind closed doors to discuss their differences, to Reno obtaining a court order in Miami next week that reinforces her authority to transfer Elian to his father.

Sources said that federal law enforcement personnel have been operating in the Little Havana community of Miami for some time now, trying to gauge potential threats that might come from anti-Fidel Castro protesters as well as mapping out strategies for removing the child.

“At the minimum we will have a protective detail for the boy, just like we are protecting the father when he leaves the place he’s staying at” in Bethesda, Md., said one source.

Another source suggested that it would not be prudent for Justice Department officials to alert the Miami relatives before making any move.

“To me, the way things are down there, we wouldn’t necessarily tell them in advance,” the source said. “If you do, they would just encourage a lot more protesters to show up.”

Several high-ranking federal law enforcement sources said that the timetable for any decision is extremely fluid, and they indicated that an attempt to remove the boy could come as early as today.

“There’s a feeling that it could probably happen this weekend,” said one law enforcement source. “I’m getting more indications that it would happen sooner [rather] than later. And from a public relations standpoint, Easter Sunday is not a good day.”

A second federal law enforcement source agreed that Sunday is an unlikely date, provided Reno has even made a firm decision by then to go into the Miami home where the Cuban castaway is staying with relatives, and transfer the boy to his father, who is staying at the residence of a Cuban diplomat.

The source also noted that, logistically, it could take up to 48 hours from the time a decision is made to when agents actually knock on the door.

But, the source cautioned, “we are considering all the angles” as officials seek other methods to end the impasse.

Reno and some of her top staff met Friday with Juan Miguel Gonzalez for the second time since he arrived in the United States on April 6. The meeting occurred at his request, and lasted less than 15 minutes. He was accompanied by his lawyer, Gregory B. Craig.

After the meeting, Reno issued this statement:

“I met this afternoon for the second time with Elian’s father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez. He expressed his great concern for the welfare of his son and urged me to take action to reunify him with Elian.

“I was deeply moved by Mr. Gonzalez’s evident love for his son. I assured him that I would continue working toward the goal of reuniting him with his child.”

Earlier in the day, before meeting with Gonzalez, Reno told reporters: “I’m exploring every possibility I can to see this resolved peacefully, promptly and properly.”

Asked if she were on the verge of ordering law enforcement agents to retrieve Elian, Reno replied: “If I were going to do something like that, I certainly wouldn’t tell you.”

Another Justice Department official, who asked not to be identified, said that officials could not give the father any guarantee that a decision has been made to force a reunion.

“Gonzalez asked for the meeting so he could express to her in person his anxieties,” the official said.

“He was highly emotional. He thanked her for her efforts and said he really understood she was trying to do the right thing. He expressed his very strong desire to have his child back and said he was quite worried about his son. He said he wanted urgent action.”

At the same time, the official said, Gonzalez said he believes that Reno can never fully understand his feelings because Elian is not her son.

Meeting Called ‘Very Cordial’

“The meeting was very cordial,” the official reiterated. “Ms. Reno stressed to him that she could not tell him what her plans are or commit to any timetable or specific course of action.”

The saga began nearly five months ago when the boy was rescued at sea after a hazardous trip from Cuba in a small boat that capsized off the Florida coast, drowning his mother and 10 others who wanted to live in the United States. Elian was rescued by fishermen and claimed soon after to live with his great-uncle’s family.

In Miami on Friday, there was no immediate reaction from the relatives there or their lawyers about any possible law enforcement intervention.

Members of the family have repeatedly said that they will meet with the father but not voluntarily turn the boy over.

Outside the house Friday, protesters formed a human chain to block Elian’s removal and dozens of others prayed.

Some carried 6-foot wooden crosses representing Jesus’ crucifixion on Good Friday, and many warned that it would be a mistake for the federal government to try to remove Elian by force.

One neighbor set up a life-size statue of St. Lazarus, one of Cuba’s most revered religious symbols. The statue, draped in a purple cape and propped up by crutches, has a photo of Elian at its feet, next to a printout saying, “God can make the impossible possible.”

The crowd grew to about 600 Friday evening, causing rising tensions.

“We won a small victory, but we have the worry that immigration is going to get Elian soon,” said Ana Silverio, 48.

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a Republican, urged Clinton to pursue a mediated agreement in the case, saying that any forced transfer was both “unwise and unwarranted.”

But at the White House, officials stressed that many options are still being discussed and that the Clinton administration expects to be briefed before any final decision is reached.

“No decisions have been made that I am aware of,” said White House spokesman Joe Lockhart. “And I would expect, before decisions are made, the president will get briefed, and that hasn’t happened.”

Lockhart also encouraged the Miami relatives to obey Reno’s repeated requests to voluntarily turn the boy over, particularly now that the appellate court has ordered that Elian cannot be taken to Cuba while his appeal for asylum is pending.

“The Miami relatives have taken a number of steps that have proven to be false starts,” Lockhart said. “It’s quite clear that, if that’s what they’d like, they should come forward in good faith and do that.

“This is not about playing games,” Lockhart added. “It’s not about public relations. . . . It should be about coming forward and doing what’s right.”