Miami - A Florida family court judge yesterday ruled her court had jurisdiction over a six-year-old Cuban boy and issued a temporary protective order for the child, in spite of a US Immigration and Naturalisation Service decision last week that the boy's father in Cuba had custody.
The ruling by Judge Rosa Rodriguez appeared to mean Elian Gonzalez would stay in the US, at least until a hearing set for March 6th and seemed to be a victory for Cuban-American exiles who have fought to keep Elian in the US, and for his Miami relatives who petitioned the court for custody on the grounds the boy could suffer harm if he was returned to Cuba.
Tens of thousands of Cubans rallied outside the US diplomatic mission to call for the return of Elian as a six-week-old campaign of protests across Cuba returned to its starting point. The latest rally in Havan began just minutes after the ruling.