US group backs Cuban family

Havana - Leaders of a prominent US church group yesterday met with the Cuban family of 6-year-old shipwreck survivor Elian Gonzalez…

Havana - Leaders of a prominent US church group yesterday met with the Cuban family of 6-year-old shipwreck survivor Elian Gonzalez in an effort to resolve an international custody dispute over the boy. He is currently being cared for by relatives in Miami, after his mother drowned while attempting to bring him to the US. His father and close family remain in Havana.

"We believe that Elian Gonzalez should be returned to his family," said Dr Joan Brown Campbell, a leader of the US National Council of Churches, which represents 35 Protestant and Orthodox denominations with 52 million members.