Woman who took son to Cuba faces federal, state allegations

 BY GAIL EPSTEIN NIEVES

One day after a highly publicized return from Cuba with her 6-year-old son, Arletis Blanco -- accused of kidnapping the boy and taking him to her homeland for nine months -- pleaded not guilty during her first appearance in Miami federal court Friday.

 Blanco, 29, of Key Largo, had a weary frown on her face as she sat shackled to another prisoner. The clothes she wore from Cuba on Thursday had been replaced by wheat-colored prison garb.

 Asked by U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry Garber if she owned a car, real estate or any other assets, Blanco responded, ``Absolutely none.''

 Garber appointed her a lawyer from the federal public defender's office and set another hearing for 10 a.m. Tuesday.

 A federal grand jury indicted Blanco for international parental kidnapping in February, three months after she secretly whisked her son, Jonathon, then 5, to Cuba in a fishing boat.

 At the time, Blanco and her ex-husband, Jon Colombini of Homestead, shared custody of the boy.

 A Monroe County court later granted sole temporary custody to Jon Colombini, who hired a lawyer to battle for his son's return.

 ``People should remember that in the United States -- unlike the country from which she just came -- Ms. Blanco is presumed innocent, and she is entitled to her day in court,'' said David O. Markus, her appointed lawyer, who entered a not-guilty plea on her behalf.

 Blanco agreed to return Jonathon only if she, her boyfriend and their 2 1/2-year-old daughter -- all of whom made the original trip -- could come back, too.

 Colombini and Jonathon had a tearful reunion at Miami International Airport before immediately taking off to Ohio for a family vacation.

 In court, Blanco told the judge she did not have a job during the nine months she spent in Pinar del Rio, Cuba. She said she previously made $12,000 a year as the office manager for McKenzie Petroleum in Marathon.

 Blanco is wanted on a grand theft charge in Monroe County for allegedly stealing close to $150,000 from McKenzie. Police have said she admitted to the theft in tape recordings that she left behind for her family.

 Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Daniel -- who worked with Colombini's lawyer to get Jonathon back -- told the judge that the missing funds have ``not been accounted
 for.''

 Until Tuesday, Garber set a $100,000 corporate surety bond and required Blanco to surrender her travel documents, wear an electronic monitor, stay in South Florida and report to pretrial services. Markus said he will ask for a reduced bond on Tuesday so that Blanco can get out of jail.

 ``She's already come back voluntarily, so she's not a flight risk, and she's not a danger to the community,'' he said.

 Last year, Blanco told the Communist Party daily Granma she left the United States because she wanted a better life for her son and she had uncovered an anti-Castro plot developed by her former boss.

 Blanco said she fled, fearing for her life. Her employer has denied her story.

                                    © 2001 The Miami Herald