Miami Kin File Petition to Fight Boy’s Return to Cuba

Lawyers for the relatives of 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez filed a petition Friday to appoint a guardian for the child, a first step toward trying to prevent the Cuban boy’s return to his homeland.

Neither the attorneys nor the family would comment on the petition until Judge Rosa Rodriguez made a decision in the case, said family spokesman Armando Gutierrez.

In Cuba, meanwhile, tens of thousands of people in Elian’s hometown rallied in a seaside plaza Friday night to demand his return. “Elian, Cardenas awaits you . . . with kisses,” a Cuban country music band sang.

Elian was found Thanksgiving Day clinging to an inner tube at sea after his mother, her boyfriend and eight other people drowned while trying to reach Florida by boat.

The boy was placed with his great-uncle and great-aunt in Miami, but the Immigration and Naturalization Service ruled Wednesday that he must be returned to his father in Cuba by Jan. 14. The decision touched off angry protests in the Cuban American community.

Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas and Miami Mayor Joe Carollo, accompanied by one of the family’s lawyers, flew to Washington on Friday to appeal directly to Atty. Gen. Janet Reno. Florida Gov. Jeb Bush also asked President Clinton to reverse the order.

Reno has said she was consulted on the INS decision and approved of it. Clinton said Friday the INS did the right thing.

“I believe they followed the law,” Clinton said. “This is a volatile and difficult case. . . . We need to keep this out of the political process as much as possible.”

In contrast to Thursday, when two Cuban exile leaders and 133 other people were arrested and police were forced to use tear gas to disperse a crowd, protesters in Miami were much calmer Friday.

However, the Cuban exile community called for more civil disobedience. The planned demonstrations included a vigil Friday night at the federal building in Orlando and a large protest in Little Havana today. Protesters are also planning to drive slowly around Miami International Airport on Monday.

“If the child is sent back to Cuba without his day in court, all hell is going to break loose,” said Jose Basulto, founder of Brothers to the Rescue, an anti-Castro group.

Bush spoke with demonstration organizers and asked them to “do the demonstrations in a way that does not disrupt daily life in South Florida, because it would hurt the cause of Elian.”

The rally in Cardenas, Cuba, was marked by songs, tears and personal recollections of Elian. It was the most personal and emotional of many held since early December, when Cuban President Fidel Castro promised mass mobilization until the boy is returned to his father.

The speakers included classmates from Elian’s elementary school, his teacher, his school principal and the doctor who has been caring for him since he was a baby.

Elian’s father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, his four grandparents and his great-grandmother began weeping as the group sang of the boy’s mother. Gonzalez looked particularly distraught, his eyes red from crying.

During the rally, many children broke down in tears and were carried out by parents or members of the Red Cross.

The petition filed Friday was on behalf of Elian Gonzalez’s great-uncle, Lazaro Gonzalez.