CUBA: MOTHER FLEES FROM USA

(24 Nov 2000) Eng/Spanish/Nat XFA A Florida mother and her two children have turned against the tide of Cuban immigrants who flee to the U-S in search of prosperity and, instead, have fled from the U-S to Cuba. Arletis Blanco Prez, a Cuban national living in the U-S, crossed the Florida Strait by boat on November 12 and is now with relatives in a village 120 kilometres (200 miles) west of Havana. The father of Artelis' five-year-old son Jonathon is now demanding the boy be returned to Miami. Thousands of Cubans have fled their communist island in search of prosperity abroad, many risking their lives in dangerous boat trips across the Florida straits. But one bizarre case has suddenly come to light of someone making the perilous journey in reverse. Arletis Blanco Perez, formally of Key Largo, southern Florida, is taking up residence with her husband and two children here, in countryside 120 kilometres (200 miles) west of the capital Havana. The family arrived by boat on November 13 and are now planning a new future together in Cuba. Arletis' decision was a controversial one. The natural father of her first child, U-S citizen Jonathon Loren Colombini, has demanded custody of his son. Arletis admitted she did not warn Mr Colombini of her plans to leave but added he was free to visit the child whenever he chose. But she added he had not paid regular visits to his son even in Florida. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) "It is a humane country and if you want to come and see your son you can come. I am sure that the Cuban government would see it that way and on no occasion would they deny a son the right to see his father. But it was two months since the father last came to see his son." SUPER CAPTION: Arletis Blanco Perez, fled to Cuba by boat The village is a rural one and the pace of life is slow. But Arletis appeared unconcerned at the sudden change in lifestyle for her two children, both born and raised in Florida. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) "I have thought several times what it would be like to grow up here, with its very noble lifestyle. A neighbour here is like your brother. Over there (in the US) my parents have lived in a house for 18 years and do not even know who their neighbour is. There, yes there is money. There is all the work and anything you want. But over there, it's, 'You tell me what you got, I'll tell you what you're worth'." SUPER CAPTION: Arletis Blanco Perez, fled to Cuba by boat Her departure from Florida prompted an editorial in Cuba's state controlled newspaper Granma on Thursday. Reference was made to allegations in Florida which linked Arletis to a theft of 150-thousand U-S dollars, now under police investigation. Arletis has denied any part in the theft. But despite the media's rush to draw parallels, she also dismissed any similarities in the case of her five year old son Jonathon and that of six year old Elian Gonzalez. Elian, washed up on the coast of Florida coast last November, became the subject of a high profile custody battle before being returned to Cuba in June. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) "No, he will not be turned into an Elian for the simple reason that I am his mother and I am not dead. And I have not done anything illegal with this child. The only problem was I didn't bother telling a father who never worried about his son that I was going to take his son away. This was like moving no further than from Miami to Homestead. It's all the same." SUPER CAPTION: Arletis Blanco Perez, fled to Cuba by boat The U-S has officially declared Arletis had no right to take her child from Florida. handled. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...