The international tug-of-war over 6-year-old refugee Elian Gonzalez took a bizarre turn yesterday as Fidel Castro demanded the United States hand over six armed men who allegedly hijacked a boat from Cuba.
“What are they going to do with the hijackers? Let them go free?” Castro said in Havana.
“Or obey the law and return them to Cuba, as agreed in the migration accord we have?”
Castro added the return of the alleged hijackers to his demand that little Elian be sent home to Cuba to live with his father and grandparents.
He threatened that the latest incident will add fuel to a wave of anti-American demonstrations in Cuba sparked by the custody battle over Elian who was rescued off Florida after his mother and 10 others drowned trying to reach America.
Castro had insisted over the weekend that Elian be returned to his family by this morning – or millions of Cubans would take to the streets.
“I hope the irritation of the people does not grow with this latest barbarity,” Castro told demonstrators.
Cuban officials said the Albacora, a small party boat used for day trips for foreign tourists, was hijacked Monday morning in the small town of Puerto Escondido, about 60 miles east of Havana.
The officials said men armed with knives forced Capt. Alfredo Games, 37, and a crew member to head for
Florida. Fishermen and others on shore alerted the Cuban Coast Guard, which sent a boat after the Albacora.
Cuban officials notified the U.S. Coast Guard, which sent a ship to intercept the Albacora once it crossed into international waters – about 12:45 p.m.
FBI hostage negotiators were called in – but all the men on board were brought onto the American vessel without difficulty, U.S. officials said.
FBI agents and INS officials grilled the alleged hijackers yesterday on a Coast Guard boat in the Florida Straits.
American authorities said there were six suspected hijackers, but Cuba said there were eight.
“The issue remains whether the Cubans are candidates for asylum or whether they should be returned to Cuba,” FBI spokesman Terry Nelson said.
He said it will be up to State and Justice department officials in Washington to decide if the alleged hijackers should be charged with a crime in the United States.
Meanwhile, Elian remained with relatives in Miami, who want to keep him in the United States -while his dad wants him sent home.Thousands of people demonstrated in Havana for the third straight day.