Word: elian
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Reno can legitimately claim that Lazaro's family never gave any sign that it was prepared to meet either of her chief demands: to turn over Elian immediately, as her legal order required; and to travel to Washington for a transition period. The closest the family came to averting the raid was with the Friday-night fax, which said, "We understand that you have transferred temporary custody of Elian to his father." But lawyers close to the family acknowledge that this was a concession in theory only; the family intended to share custody during the transition period and perhaps beyond...
...most of the country, the reaction was more muted: the raid was the right move but hard to watch. For those who see the seizure of Elian in starker terms, vindication must wait while politicians and appeals courts have their say. The Miami relatives will insist they were reasonable; the Justice Department will contend it was a model of restraint; and others will point to the steady stream of pictures of a happy-looking Elian cavorting with his dad. Those without an agenda will want to look at the key questions...
...government points out one certain thing: as often as the family promised to obey the law, it also warned that if the feds wanted Elian, they would have to use force. Marisleysis told a federal official a few days before the raid, "There's more than cameras inside the house...
...styled sentinels who, somewhat pathetically, tried to wrap up the feds in a TV news camera's cable. Then the agents banged twice on the door; when no one answered, they pushed in the door with a battering ram and moved quickly through the six-room house to find Elian. The rest is etched into the American imagination...
...drive. When Podhurst told Reno, at 4 a.m. on Saturday, that he couldn't get the family to make up its mind about leaving town, Reno called it a "deal breaker." As it turned out, what it took to get the family on a plane to Washington was Elian's going there first...