Cuban Father to be Denied Child - Ie. Elian's Revenge?

The Miami Herald and exile bloggers are trying to nip things in the bud but the similarities of this Cuban custody battle with Elian are more than cosmetic. This time the fate of a 4 year old girl is playing out in the Florida courts, without those pesky Feds.

Apparently now the Floridian state officials have made their position on the girl known. They prefer the child live with "family aquantences" over the girl's father in Cuba, whom wants to come and claim the child but is being prevented by the US State Dept. There is no question of the father's fitness, even the (seperated) mom said she would prefer the child go with him than the aquaintenances. The details are below.

MIAMI - State officials want a 4-year-old Cuban girl to remain in South Florida with a family acquaintance rather than be returned home to her father, a newspaper reported Saturday.


The girl, who arrived legally in the United States from Cuba with her mother and sibling two years ago, is being cared for by a family acquaintance as the dispute over her long-term custody unfolds under secret court proceedings...

The girl was removed from her mother's care by the Florida Department of Children & Families about a year ago after an investigation into charges that the woman's severe mental illness made her an unfit parent. Sources cited by the newspaper said DCF then asked Circuit Judge Jeri B. Cohen to grant long-term custody to a Cuban-American acquaintance of the family.

The father in Cuba also is pressing to gain custody, but he has been denied permission by the U.S. State Department to enter the country to appear in court, sources said.

State law does not require his presence to grant him custody, though many judges insist they meet potential caregivers. An independent agency was asked to conduct a review of the living conditions of the girl's father.
Whole thing