Castro Visits With Elian, Reports Say

President Fidel Castro has met the boy who was the focus of his politics for much of the past seven months, media reports said. Castro visited Elian Gonzalez’s family Friday to congratulate the 6-year-old for completing first grade, according to Granma, the Communist Party daily. The reports did not say where the meeting took place, but the government had prepared a house in Havana for Elian, who returned from the U.S. on June 28. Elian survived a boat sinking in November that killed his mother and 10 others headed toward Florida. An ensuing custody dispute became an international incident.