Boy 14 Years Old Slips into Cuba (Flies thru Bahamas)

[guajira]

This is not as unusual a story as one might think. Many Cubans come to US for visits, then return to Cuba.


A 14-year-old Miami boy used his father's credit card and an expired passport to fly to Cuba Thursday by himself.

Alfredo Diaz said that his son, who is also named Alfredo Diaz, skipped school and then skipped out of the country.

Diaz flew from South Miami to the Bahamas and, from there, to Havana, Cuba. How Diaz boarded two international flights with an expired passport has yet to be determined.



http://www.nbc6.net/news/9918365/detail.html

[MADem]

1. Missed his mom, he did

Police said they can not do anything about the situation because the boy is safe with his mother in Cuba.

[angstlessk]

2. The question is...will they return the boy to his father? n/t

[Judi Lynn]

3. Can't imagine they would, since it was his choice to return. n/t

[sandnsea]

5. He's with his mother

This is different than Elian. If there were no mother in Cuba and the father is an acceptable parent, then I'd agree with you. As it is, it's a custody issue and the child has made his wishes clear. Most judges accept the wishes of kids by the time they're 14.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

11. Of course, that won't stop the knuckledraggers from wailing "hypocrisy" nt

[noonwitch]

22. In Michigan, a youth 14 and over can choose who he lives with,...

There are exceptions, when it has been established that one parent is unfit for whatever reason, or if the child is a ward of the court-even in the latter case, the court respects the kid's wishes as to what relative he can be placed with as long as there are no other issues (like the kid needs to be hospitalized for psych reasons, or the kid's behavior is really bad and no relatives are willing to take him, or the kid is a teen mother and needs to be in a placment with her child where both are being supervised by a responsible party, and so on).

And, even if the kid has psychiatric problems, the court officials still want him to attend court hearings and be a part of the proceedings.

[Mika]

23. Thanks for the info, but it has no bearing on this situation.

Just as in the Elian Gonzales case, jurisdiction is the issue.

The parents have joint custody.

Unlike the Elian case, one parent (father) is in the US, the other (mother) is in Cuba.

The child is in Cuba now, in custody of the mother.

In accordance with Section 8 of the Hague Convention on Child Custody, that puts jurisdiction in Cuba.



It is also US law

http://www.hiltonhouse.com/codes/42usc11601etseq_fed.txt

(b) PETITIONS.-Any person seeking to initiate judicial
proceedings under the Convention for the return of a child or for
arrangements for organizing or securing the effective exercise of
rights of access to a child may do so by commencing a civil
action by filing a petition for the relief sought in any court
which has jurisdiction of such action and which is authorized to
exercise its jurisdiction in the place where the child is located
at the time the petition is filed.

[Minstrel Boy]

9. A 14 year old who makes that much effort to leave him

has already answered the question.

[Karenina]

10. Talk about voting with your feet!

Kids!

[seasat]

4. If any posters here are Floridians, vote for Jim Davis.

He has proposed several amendments to overturn the travel restrictions to Cuba. It would allow this child to legally visit his mother directly from Florida without taking the dangerous steps of sneaking from Miami to the Bahamas. (LINK)

[William769]

6. He got my vote in the primary, He'll get in in November also!

[ngant17]

7. My guess is that his father came here illegally according to Cuban law

and I suspect he was legal when he applied for Cuban Adjustment with US law, which gives Cubans emigres more rights than Haitians and Bahamians and other immigrants from the Caribbean.

Question: Why would a husband desert his legal wife in Cuba and come to Miami by himself? How does a wife support a family this way? Also did he have wife's legal permission to take her child from Cuba?

The man is definitely not the type of family-values man that the Repugs will support here in the USA. Someone needs to check out this guy because he could have been in trouble in Cuba and needed to escape for some reason other than the tired-old excuse of "repression". A lot of the story is being hidden here.

[Mika]

14. What would make you guess that the father came to the US illegally?

Posted by ngant17--> "How does a wife support a family this way?"


Cuba has an entirely socialized system of support for all families. Single parent or not. That means controlled rent (at no more than 10% of income), guaranteed income, socialized health care -pre birth to death, socialized education -including higher ed, food subsidies -no one goes hungry, low cost subsidized electricity, low cost subsidized phone service, free water service, plus more.

That is how a single parent family lives (and does OK) in Cuba.


--

Posted by ngant17--> Also did he have wife's legal permission to take her child from Cuba?


She could have made a legal claim if he didn’t (most family court settlements grant joint custody in Cuba).



--



Please don't demonize all Cuban Americans as criminals or assume that most are, or collectively group most of the Cuban expats in the US as "rafters" or smuggled-in - because the vast majority have come to the US by legal means - using legal immigration visas offered by the US to Cubans.

[ngant17]

17. Human and socialist principles in Cuba

It remains to be seen whether the Cuban father neglected his human and socialist duties as a parent and husband to his Cuban family, mainly by leaving Cuba without his required "tarjeta blanca".

Human principles of Cuba's socialist society include: Desire for welfare, personal dignity, moral integrity, also this includes love for the family, and the sons/daughters. IMHO the Cuban father appears to have not met these mininmim requirements of Cuban socialist principles.

Also, if the US gov. uses the same set of standards for Cuban emigrees as it does for the rest of the world, then certainly the vast majority of Cubans that come here must be considered illegal.

It is illegal for a Cuban to emigrate or leave the island without the 'white card'/tarjeta blanca, which must be issued by the Cuban government. I would bet that you could not get much more than a few percent of native-born, US-resident Cuban emigre population to show their original trajeta blanca which was issued by the Republic of Cuba.

Or better yet, cross-reference the data from the records which Cuba has, and any Cuban who wasn't issued an original tarjeta blanca from Cuba should be considered an illegal immigrant and treated the same way they treat Mexicans and other Latin Americans. Equal justice for all, that's an American concept.

There are also Cuban criminals who happen to live here and deserve to face justice and punishment for their crimes committed against Cuba, including acts of terrorism against the Cuban people from the original days of the Revolution and beyond, but we know Bush and this Repugs protect these kinds of terrorists because they are donors to the Repug party.

Something can be illegal but not practically enforced, too. I'm sure the Cuban gov. will not bother with this guy as long as he is happy in Miami and leaves the mother and kid alone in Cuba. I suspect he will not be coming back to answer questions from his local CDR anytime soon.

[Mika]

19. Huh?

Posted by ngant17-->"Also, if the US gov. uses the same set of standards for Cuban emigrees as it does for the rest of the world, then certainly the vast majority of Cubans that come here must be considered illegal."



Just because the US government provides more LEGAL immigration visas to Cuba than any other country doesn't mean that those who receive legal visas would/should be considered illegal in any case. The applicants are subject to the same standards - a criminal background search by the US gov (done in Cuba) just as is any applicant from any other country.


Its the US "Wet foot/Dry foot" policy that allows the ILLEGAL immigrants to stay in the US, and the US Cuban Adjustment Act provides all Cuban immigrants (both those who have used legal and illegal methodologies to get here) with the extra perks provided to Cubans only.


---



Posted by ngant17-->"Equal justice for all, that's an American concept."



Then why should any Cuban immigrants who have received LEGAL immigration visas be considered illegals.. let alone your accusation that the "vast majority of Cubans that come here must be considered illegal"?

While I personally don't agree with the US policies of Wet Foot/Dry Foot and the Cuban Adjustment Act, I certainly don't accuse those who have used the legal avenues provided by the US government to get here to be criminals for doing so. That might smack of bigotry.

[ngant17]

20. The tarjeta blanca

I believe the Republic of Cuba will have the final say in whether this Cuban man has immigrated legally or illegally from Cuba. Or just ask him to show his white card. That would settle the question.

We must rationally ask that Cubans (Cuban adults at least) follow normal procedures when emigrating, just as we do with every other nation. This won't happen under Bu$h, a rogue state under his leadership. I doubt it if it would even happen under a Democrat. But at least I can entertain the logical thought for a moment.

Under these circumstances, if the first statement is accurate, I certainly think the child did the right thing by returning to Cuba to his mother. It wasn't any more illegal than what a lot of Cuban adults are already doing, thanks to US gov. complicity in the matter.

[Mika]

8. 2 international flights with an expired passport?

First- one doesn't need a passport (yet) to go to the Bahamas from the US (just a valid ID).

Second- one doesn't need a passport to leave for Cuba from the Bahamas.

Third- Cuba accepts all citizens (who have not renounced their citizenship) back to their homeland.

Fourth- Cuba recognizes, as a signatory, Section 8 of the Hague Convention on Child Custody.

[Judi Lynn]

12. Thanks for the deeper information, Mika.

Didn't know the Hague Convention information, but it's not a surprise by now.

Can count on you to ALWAYS know more than the average guy about this subject! :hi:

[Lydia Leftcoast]

13. And maybe he had an expired CUBAN passport so that

with proof of Cuban citizenship, there was no problem for him getting in.

[Mika]

15. Or birth certificate.

Or he could have stated his case to Cuban immigration officials who would confirm his birthplace and/or citizenship status.

Plus, his mother would have say as to his status as she is the guardian in Cuba (provided that there was a joint custody agreement in a divorce, or the parents are still married).

[ngant17]

18. I object to the 3rd point

True, Cuba will accept any citizen who wants to return back to Cuba, but he/she may face retribution based on the circumstances of their situation.

No Cuban is above the law and their conduct can be held accountable even if it occurs outside the jurisdiction of Cuban law at the time.

The fact that the rightwing Miami press is covering up this story and strangely silent about the whole issue, normally they scream and yell over any little incident like this, it tells me that the father did something illegal or wrong in Cuba, he probably has a Cuban police report on his record, a lot of questions to face back home, so this Cuban father had to 'escape' to Miami to get away from the heat for the time being.

As bad as it can get in Miami, he knows it will be better than jail time in Cuba. And the pending divorce and alimony payments to his wife and kid, which will be required at least until the kid is 18 years old.

And even after that, he would still have the CDR to deal with!

A lot of the mystery could be cleared up for us if his Cuban (ex)wife wants to make a public statement over there.

[Judi Lynn]

16. I've been checking frequently for more on this story, and it's interesting

noting that the Miami Herald doesn't seem to be writing a WORD on it, nor it's Cuban-audience focused El Nuevo Herald.

Apparently the story isn't as popular with the more outspoken part of the crowd in Miami as you'd expect. Ha ha ha.

As people have slyly mentioned, if you want to find out how much some of the citizens in Miami value free speech, just go inside the Versailles restaurant and yell, "I'm glad Elián Gonzalez is back home with his dad."

[Mika]

21. FINALLY! Miami Herald: 14-year-old student flees to Cuba

Interesting that the Miami Herald would use the phrase "..flees to Cuba".


14-year-old student flees to Cuba
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15616721.htm

As identification, she said, Alfredo presented his alien registration card, which shows his birth date as Dec. 8, 1991 -- three months shy of 15 years ago.
''Our agent checked his year of birth, which is 1991. They did not check the specific date when he would turn 15,'' Pantín said.
From the Bahamas, Alfredo likely used his Cuban passport, which he sneaked from his dad's strong box, for the flight to Havana, Diaz said.
After hours of searching for his son in Miami-Dade, Diaz said he learned at around 8 p.m. Thursday that Alfredo was in Cuba when his ex-wife, Dailet, called.
' `Alfredo is with me,' she told me,' '' Diaz said. 'I said: `What? How did he get there?' She told me he said he had bought a ticket with my credit card through the Internet.''
Diaz's credit card records show Alfredo purchased a $157 ticket to Nassau and a second ticket for $315 to Havana.

WANTS SON BACK

Diaz, who owns a construction business and lives with his girlfriend and her two sons, ages 12 and 13, wants his son back, but he has hit a legal wall.
Miami-Dade police have told him they can do nothing for now because he has no written proof of custody.
Diaz, who has legal resident status and came to the United States by way of Spain 12 years ago, said when he claimed his son six years ago from Cuba, the U.S. Interests Section in Havana kept his custody papers. He is now requesting copies.
A spokesman for the Interests Section said it can help minor U.S. citizens. There might be little it can do since Alfredo is Cuban-born, he willingly traveled to the island with his Cuban passport and he is with his birth mother.

[Judi Lynn]

24. Mika, it probably took a week for the Herald to find a way to spin the

story! It's simply AMAZING it took this long for them to break down and run it, isn't it?

It's amusing to note that the Herald actually admitted at least a couple of times in the article that the kid has VISITED home since leaving. They even mentioned that his dad's girlfriend went with him on his trip once.

And WHY would the U.S. Interests Section have any right to keep a father's custody papers? That sounds like a real lie. Not that they wouldn't if it was to their advantage, but no doubt it's ILLEGAL. Sounds like the father never had them, doesn't it?

You've gotta love the closing paragraph. How very, very pathetic:

''I'm hoping he will spend a couple of months there without his computer, plasma TV, iPod, and he'll want to come back,'' the father said. ``My son likes the good things in life. He won't find that in Cuba.''

[Judi Lynn]

25. Finally the story is getting around, but only with the spin FIRST!

Fla. Teen Leaves U.S. to Live in Cuba

Wednesday September 27, 2006 10:46 PM


MIAMI (AP) - A 14-year-old Florida boy who was having trouble in school used his father's credit card to fly to Havana, where he is now living with his mother, his father says.

The father, Cuban immigrant Alfredo Diaz, is urging U.S. officials to help him get his son back.

The boy, also named Alfredo, flew to Cuba last week after buying a plane ticket over the Internet, his father said Tuesday. The father said he did not know of his trip until his ex-wife called.

The elder Diaz said his son may have been upset over his aborted candidacy for class president, which ended after he was accused of casting ballots for himself in the name of his friends. Diaz punished his son by canceling his computer privileges and confiscating his iPod.
(snip/...)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6110066,00.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Funny how the story just lay there, like a dead trout for days, until someone got the idea to emphasize the part about his casting some ballots to vote for himself in school as the reason he left Florida.

You see the progression from guajira's original story, to Mika's, to this one which got the AP treatment.

No surprise to DU'ers who've watched US press treatment of international stories.