By DRAEGER MARTINEZ
Herald Staff Writer

About 100 people rallied at Jose Marti Park in Miami on Saturday to welcome the
return of the Democracy Movement boat, Human Rights -- out of federal custody
and back in its owner's possession following a 20-day hunger strike.

``When you consider the holiday and the rain, the spirit of the people was not
broken. We will work through the strength of the few,'' said Gus Garcia, a
movement co-founder. ``We can exert our rights without taking others' rights
away.''

The rally concluded a sequence of events that began Dec. 10, when federal
authorities seized the boat at sea after organization co-founder Ramon Saul
Sanchez would not promise to keep the vessel clear of Cuban territorial waters.
Months of legal wrangling followed before Sanchez surprised everyone by
declaring a water-only hunger strike May 5.

The hunger strike lasted 20 days, and Sanchez shed more than 20 pounds before
the U.S. government relented on Monday and conditionally agreed to return the
boat. For much of the week, Sanchez lay on a hospital bed while recovering, a
gaunt and even frail-looking man in a green hospital gown.

Speaking at the park Saturday, he raised himself back to his full six-foot two-inch
height, and seemed reenergized.

While other speakers talked from the park's grandstand, several feet above the
crowd, Sanchez descended a few steps to reach eye-level with the crowd and the
audience crowded closer.

``There were some very special people who regained our boat and defended our
constitutional rights -- the American Civil Liberties Union,'' Sanchez said. The
ACLU provided legal help in persuading the government to return the boat.

``My family is the Democracy Movement,'' Sanchez said, shortly before spreading
out the crowd into a hand-holding circle. The participants became solemn, heads
bowed in sober reflection, before singing the Cuban national anthem.

The boat Human Rights, carried on a flatbed truck, took a circuitous route up from
Key West with several stops Friday and Saturday. Police had expressed
concerns about the effect on traffic, so the movement remained low-key about all
stops except Jose Marti Park.

``At Sweetwater City Hall, the entire police department came out to get their
pictures taken with the boat,'' a smiling Garcia said. ``To see law enforcement
standing side by side with a symbol of civil rights, even civil disobedience, was
amazing. That stop was our greatest worry but it became our greatest victory.''

Sanchez said he was recovering swiftly from his hunger strike, helped by frequent
helpings of picadillo and other traditional Cuban fare.

The Human Rights will require some repairs, but the movement will return it to
active seagoing service as soon as the group raises funds, Sanchez said.