Miami – A Cuban father allowed his young daughter to immigrate legally to the U.S. with her mother to find a better life. But months later, the mother has become incapable of caring for the girl and the father wants to take the child home.
It would seem a simple case, especially since the mother agrees her daughter should return to Cuba.
Yet on the eve of the trial, a judge has warned that it could “inflame the community” where the battle over Elián Gonzalez nearly eight years ago divided the city and became an international incident.
Testimony is to begin today over whether 32-year-old Cuban farmer Rafael Izquierdo can regain custody of his 4-year-old daughter – whose name is being kept secret – or whether she should remain with a wealthy Cuban-American and his wife who want to adopt her.
Until now, unlike Elián’s case, this custody battle has moved quietly through family court.
But on Thursday, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Jerri Cohen reluctantly lifted a gag order at the request of the girl’s foster father, Joe Cubas, 46, a former sports agent who has represented New York Mets pitcher Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez and other ballplayers who defected from Cuba.
Cubas said he asked that it be lifted because he said he was getting many questions about the case.
The judge warned that allowing the parties to speak to the media “could have the possibility to inflame the community.”
Still, civic leaders don’t believe this case will spark similar reactions. The facts are different, and neither the U.S. government nor the Cuban-exile community has a desire to repeat the past.
