BY MADELINE BARO DIAZ

 A much publicized showdown between the government and Elian Gonzalez's
 Miami relatives last week led online supporters of sending the 6-year-old back to
 Cuba to chime in with strong opinions.

 The online opinions in the HeraldTalk forum posted since last Thursday continued
 to be predominantly in favor of returning Elian to Cuba with his father, Juan Miguel
 Gonzalez, who arrived in Washington, D.C. almost two weeks ago to reclaim his
 son.

 ``These kidnapping criminals and overall liars deserved to (be) thrashed like the
 dogs they are,'' one person wrote in the HeraldTalk forum Friday. ``They lack the
 fortitude to understand that lying about a parent in order to keep a meal-ticket brat
 under their leaky roof is ugly and pernicious.''

 At least one reader accused Cubans in favor of keeping Elian in the United States
 of being racist.

 ``Like I have said before, if Elian was any other nationality than Cuban, (like a
 Haitian boy for instance) the Cubans in Miami would have sent him back to Haiti
 before the boy's feet were dry after being afloat for two days in the sea,'' the
 person wrote. ``Yes, the Cubans don't like black people. That's no secret and
 they make no secret of it.''

 Since he was found clinging to an inner tube last Thanksgiving, Elian has been in
 the care of his great uncle Lazaro Gonzalez. His cousin Marisleysis has
 reportedly taken the role of his surrogate mother.

 One respondent expressed sympathy for the Miami relatives, but not the Cuban
 American National Foundation, which has been involved in trying to keep Elian in
 the United States.

 ``It's the CANF that should be burned to the ground,'' the message read. ``Lazaro
 started out with a humanitarian gesture, was descended upon by the CANF and
 soon became a player with serious financial stakes. Marisleysis is just a kid
 trying to do good and surrounded by greedy opportunistic men. She never meant
 the child any harm and doesn't deserve your wrath. She will be as damaged by all
 this, if not more, than Elian because she put her heart into it.''

 One woman expressed disappointment with Cuban-American stars like Gloria
 Estefan and Andy Garcia who showed up at the Gonzalez's Little Havana home
 last week to support the Miami relatives.

 ``As a former fan of Ms. Estefan, I don't recall you ever showing your support for
 the other illegals in your town,'' the woman wrote. ``Your remark that Juan Miguel
 will be safe in Miami shows your ignorance or blinders (whichever fits best) that
 you support this racist, arrogant, self-serving, lawlessness, (defiant) attitude of
 this community.''

 Despite the seemingly overwhelming support online for returning Elian, a few
 readers weighed in on the other side of the issue.

 One post Saturday to the El Nuevo Herald forums consisted of two cartoons. In
 one cartoon, an angel has his arm around the shoulder of Lazaro Gonzalez,
 helping him pull down on a seesaw. Elian is in the middle of the seesaw and Fidel
 Castro is on the other side, a devil on his shoulder, trying to pull down on the
 seesaw.

 The second animated cartoon shows a look of surprise on Fidel Castro's face as
 the top of his head is shot off.

 Another supporter of keeping Elian in the U.S. invoked religious symbolism.

 ``To tell Elian that everything will be ok if he goes back to Cuba, would be a LIE,''
 he wrote. ``This whole scene is reminiscent of what the atmosphere must have
 been like when Jesus was taken to be crucified. All of the machinery of the state
 moved inexorably to that infamous conclusion, and the majority of the people
 cheered the whole process.''