Elian Taken From Miami, Reunited with Father

The boy’s relatives say his cousin Marisleysis and his great-uncle Lazaro Gonzalez left for Washington this afternoon and said they will attempt to re-establish contact with Elian.

But a lawyer for Elian’s father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, said it is too early to consider allowing them to see the boy.

More than 20 federal agents entered the home this morning, firing pepper spray to disperse a surrounding crowd, and took the screaming 6-year-old away.

The boy was being hidden in a bedroom closet when agents arrived. By 6am, Elian was on a plane bound for Washington.

An attorney for the Miami relatives said the family was “angry and disgusted” at the government’s action.

Hundreds of protesters have thrown rocks and halted traffic in the family’s Little Havana neighborhood.

Police closed off 35 blocks around the family home just after dawn as an angry crowd burned debris and yelled at officers in riot gear.

According to CNN, police have arrested 80 people connected with the protests.

Elian was reunited with his father, stepmother and half-brother at Andrews Air Force Base, a heavily-guarded airport outside Washington used for President Clinton’s travels.

Gregory Craig, a lawyer for the Juan Miguel Gonzalez, told MSNBC Elian appeared happy to see his father.

“I found no evidence in the brief time I spent with Elian that he was in any way terrorized, frightened, traumatized or otherwise troubled,” Craig said.

Pictures released by the government show a smiling Elian in his father’s arms.

The standoff ends

This action brought to an end a five-month standoff between the relatives, who thought the boy should stay with them, and the Justice Department, who wanted to reunite Elian with his father.

Elian had lived with his relatives in Miami since his great-uncle Lazaro Gonzalez was awarded temporary custody of the boy shortly after he washed ashore while clinging to an inner tube last Thanksgiving.

Attorney General Janet Reno, who had warned of a possible intervention by federal troops, said she tried to reach a negotiated decision but the relatives “kept moving the goal post and raising the hurdles.”

“The Miami relatives rejected our efforts, leaving us no other option but the enforcement option,” Reno said.

In a brief question and answer session this morning, President Clinton said “[Reno] managed this, but I fully support what she did.”

Vice President Gore, in a statement to the press, said he thought “this issue should have been handled through a family court with the family coming together.”

Reno said Elian would remain in the United States, in keeping with a court ruling earlier this week, pending further court action over the question of asylum.