Protesters Urge Return of 6-Year-Old Boy to Cuba

A group of about 25 protesters gathered at the federal building Thursday to urge U.S. officials to return 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez to his father in Cuba.

Members of the Los Angeles Coalition in Solidarity With Cuba carried signs and photographs of the boy and chanted slogans while walking along the 300 block of Los Angeles Street.

“Cuba has few resources but they love their children. They give them free education, free medical attention,” said Carol Frances Likins, one of the protesters. “It is a paradise for children.”

Paula Solomon, one of the coalition’s founding members, said similar protests and letter writing to government officials will continue until the boy is returned to Cuba.

The battle over custody of the boy, which pits Cuba and the United States, began after Thanksgiving when he was rescued off the coast of Miami. His mother drowned in a storm with Elian’s stepfather and other others in an attempt to reach the U.S. by raft.

The boy has been living with relatives in Miami but U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service officials had ruled that Elian was to be repatriated. On Monday, Miami-Dade County Family Court Judge Rosa Rodriguez ordered that the child must remain in the U.S. until a March 6 custody hearing. But on Wednesday, Atty. Gen. Janet Reno dismissed Rodriguez’s ruling as having “no force or effect.” Reno said, however, that the deadline for sending the boy back has been extended indefinitely.

The international drama has sparked numerous protests in Cuba and Miami, where anti-Castro Cuban Americans want the boy to remain in the United States.

The Los Angeles protesters, however, said Thursday they believed the boy would be much happier with his father and grandparents.

“This is not about politics or anti-immigration,” said Oscar M. Albuerne. “This is about families being together.”