ived at Washington Dulles International Airport with his wife, Nercy Carmenate Castillo, and son Hianny. He immediatly met with Attorney General Janet Reno, INS Commissioner Doris Meissner and other officials at the Justice Department. During the April 6 meeting, which lasted an hour, Reno was moved by Juan Miguel's plea for the return of his son. This prompted the immediate devising of a plan to forcibly take custody of Elian. Later, Reno also repeated an offer made to the family a week earlier. The offer gave the Miami family two options; immediately turn Elian over to his father and she will try to have them remain in the U.S. while the appeals process over immigration status and custody continue; or keep the boy until federal marshals seize him, but there will be no government effort to prevent Juan Miguel and Elian from returning to Cuba before the appeals process is over.Cuban-Americans, whose numbers reached the hundreds outside the Miami home, view the recent decision as an act of betrayal by the federal government. Many exiles feel that the winner here is not the American government or Elian, but Fidel Castro and his communist regime. Cuban-American Ledia Chavez who supported Lazaro disgustedly stated, "We knew Castro had the power in Cuba, but we didn't know he had it here, too." Janet Reno sympathized with the community's feelings in a statement by calling Castro "a dictator from whom thousands have fled." Governor Jeb Bush showed his recognition of the emotion by commenting, "I think a lot of people are passionate about this because they have suffered at the hands of Fidel Castro." These passions, however, may be the cause of some political unrest between the Miami-Washington alliance. Experts say that Cuban-Americans in Miami stand to lose some of their lobbying power after having notable influence over U.S. policy on Cuba. In the past, Congress tended to look to Cuban-Americans for guidance and leadership. As for the gover...
