The grandmothers of the Cuban boy, Elian Gonzalez, have flown to New York to appeal for his return to Cuba from Florida where his relatives are refusing to let the six-year-old go.
Elian has been staying with relatives in Miami since he was rescued last November after the boat he was fleeing to the US in capsized. His mother and nine other Cubans were drowned.
In a press conference after arrival in New York, the two women said that they wanted to bring Elian back with them to Cuba. "It is time to finish this tragedy." The best way to honour the memory of Elian's mother was to allow him to return home to his father, they said.
A spokesman for the women said that they would not go to Miami to see Elian. There were tentative plans for them to meet the Attorney General, Ms Janet Reno, who has already stated that Elian should be returned to his father.
The fate of Elian has blown up into a major crisis between Cuba and the US as the big Cuban refugee population in Miami has campaigned for him to stay in the US and President Fidel Castro, backed by huge street demonstrations, has demanded he be returned to his father living in Cuba.
The US Immigration and Naturalisation Service has ruled that Elian should be returned to his father but his great-uncle in Miami has appealed this decision to the courts.
The US diplomatic mission in Cuba issued visas to the two grandmothers on Thursday to allow them to travel to the US with a delegation from the National Council of Churches which has been acting as an intermediary in the controversy.
The boy's relatives in Miami said they would not allow the boy to go to New York to meet the grandmothers but they were welcome to come to Miami to speak to him.