For now, Elian’s fate is in the hands of the U.S.
                          Immigration and Naturalization Service. Its rules say the
                          boy’s father must have the chance to prove he is actually the
                          parent and say whether he wants his son back. And, while
                          cases like this are rare, U.S. officials say, the parent’s
                          wishes are generally followed.
                                 Late Wednesday, the U.S. State Department cabled a
                          diplomatic note to the U.S. mission in Havana, and it was
                          then taken to the Cuban Foreign Ministry. State Department
                          spokesman James Foley said earlier in the day that the note
                          would outline the procedures by which Juan Miguel
                          Gonzalez, the boy’s father, could ask for Elian’s return.
                                 But according to Castro, the father said he would not
                          meet with U.S. officials unless they are prepared to tell him
                          when the child will be brought home.
                                 Castro’s comments came in a letter read during a
                          demonstration Wednesday night outside the U.S. mission in
                          Havana.
 
                          CASTRO SEEKS ‘HONORABLE’ DEAL

                                 “His reaction is fair,” Castro said, referring to the boy’s
                          father, but the Cuban leader also called for “a honorable
                          and dignified formula” to be sought by both sides. Castro
                          said he had been waiting all day to hear from U.S. officials
                          about the case, but had not.
                                  It was not immediately clear whether the INS would
                          find the father’s position untenable, or whether it was
                          possible some sort of intermediary could be used to
                          establish paternity to the U.S. agency’s satisfaction.
                                 Castro also said that Juan Miguel Gonzalez had been
                          offered $2 million by what he called the “extremist
                          Cuban-American mafia” to move to Miami and stay with
                          Elian there.
                                 Castro’s comments were contained in a letter read to
                          tens of thousands of protesters Wednesday night in Havana.
 
                          RHETORIC LEVEL CALMER

                                 Castro also used the letter to repeat that he did not
                          intend to humiliate the United States and that “we have not
                          formulated an ultimatum.”
                                 Both sides in the conflict appeared Wednesday to be
                          trying to lower the volume.
                                 Asked about the controversy at a news conference,
                          U.S. President Bill Clinton sidestepped the issue, saying
                          there was a legal process to be followed, and the case
                          should be resolved without “politics or threats.” He said he
                          sympathized with a father trying to get his son back, but
                          added the the highest concern was “what is best for the
                          child.”
                                 Clinton said officials in both nations should “try to take
                          as much political steam out of it as possible” for the child’s
                          sake.
                                 And Cuban officials said Castro was misunderstood
                          when he said last weekend that the boy had to be returned
                          within 72 hours — in other words by Wednesday. They
                          said it was just a “figure of speech” — and advice, not a
                          deadline.
 
                          LEGAL DECISIONS

                                 On Tuesday night, Elian briefly spoke to reporters for
                          the first time, encouraged to do so by his Miami relatives,
                          who asked him if he wanted to stay in the United States.
                                 “I want to stay,” he responded, and then whispered
                          “yes” when asked if he liked it in Miami.
                                 The boy’s father, called by The Miami Herald for a
                          reaction to Elian’s comments, countered: “That’s not what
                          he tells me on the phone. ... They are forcing him to say
                          that.”
                                 An attorney representing Elian’s relatives said
                          Wednesday the family plans to file a petition for political
                          asylum on the boy’s behalf.
                                 Elian is considered legally too young to make his own
                          decisions, but the law points toward one outcome.
                                 Under the law in Florida — or any other U.S. state —
                          the wishes of a child’s parents get the most legal weight.
                                 Legal experts say the boy’s relatives in Miami would
                          have little legal recourse in a state courtroom to stop the
                          INS process.
                                 “Courts will almost always determine that the best
                          interest of a child lies in being with an actual biological or
                          adopted parent, and not in being with a great aunt or great
                          uncle who happens to live a more prosperous life in a freer
                          place,” said David Abraham, professor at the University of
                          Miami.
                                 Even so, a lawyer for the relatives said it is worth a try.
                          “We feel that young Elian would be in danger in Cuba,” said
                          Spencer Eig. “We feel that it would not be in his best
                          interest in Cuba.”
 
                          CONCESSIONS ON BOTH SIDES

                                 NBC’s Andrea Mitchell, reporting from Havana
                          Wednesday, said Cuban officials were “encouraged” by
                          State Department positions on two fronts: that the United
                          States recognized the father’s right to assert his custody
                          claim, and that it planned to return to Cuba six people
                          suspected of hijacking a boat with two hostages last
                          Monday.
                                 However, that plan could go awry if prosecutors
                          decide to try them in the United States. A spokeswoman for
                          the U.S. attorney’s office in Miami said the matter was still
                          pending.
                                 The controversy has unfolded as both countries
                          prepare for a new round of bilateral immigration talks on
                          Monday in Havana.
                                 The president of Cuba’s National Assembly, Ricardo
                          Alarcon, warned that Havana might cancel the next round if
                          the boy were not returned.
                                 The talks are part of a 1994 bilateral agreement that
                          sought to stem the illegal refugee flow from Cuba. That
                          summer, more than 35,000 rafters risked their lives crossing
                          the Florida Straits before the two governments signed the
                          accord.
 
                          NEW RAFTER FLOOD UNLIKELY

                                 While the scheduling of those talks remained uncertain
                          on Wednesday, senior intelligence officials have told NBC
                          News that they do not expect Cuba to permit rafters to
                          leave Cuba in large numbers.
                                 “The 1995 immigration agreement works well for
                          (Castro),” said one official, speaking on condition of
                          anonymity. “It gives him a safety valve that reduces the
                          internal threat to his regime. It provides him with legal
                          justifications to make certain requests of the U.S. We don’t
                          see him abrogating this.”
                                 The United States and Cuba have held the talks every
                          six months since signing the agreement, which seeks to stop
                          often-treacherous illegal immigration from the island. It
                          allows 20,000 Cubans a year to immigrate through legal
                          channels and calls on the United States to repatriate illegal
                          Cuban immigrants picked up at sea.