ANDRIA HALL, CNN ANCHOR: Optimism in Miami and anger in Havana, as relatives of Elian Gonzalez fight over his destiny. We begin in Florida, where Elian's relatives are using legal tactics to at least stall the boy's return to Cuba. Brian Cabell reports from Miami, where U.S, lawmakers are becoming involved in the case.</s>BRIAN CABELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): By recent standards, it was a quiet day in Miami. There were rallies, but they were peaceful, as hope arose that 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez might be able to stay in the U.S. for at least a few more weeks. Cuban-American exiles again pleaded for American officials not to return the boy to Cuba. Truckers lined their vehicles up, drove slowly through the heart of Little Havana and honked their horns in support of Elian, but plans to block the airport on Monday were called off after Congressman Dan Burton issued a subpoena late Friday requiring the boy to appear before Congress on February 10th. Protesters were encouraged.</s>RAMON SAUL SANCHEZ, DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT: There was a consensus that we have to acknowledge this signals us positive first steps in the right direction.</s>CABELL: U.S. Senator Bob Smith of New Hampshire visited Elian on Saturday, spoke to his Miami relatives, and came away convinced that the boy does not want to return to Cuba.</s>SEN. BOB SMITH (R), NEW HAMPSHIRE: I'm going to do everything in my power to see to it that Elian stays here in the United States of America with his family.</s>CABELL: Smith said immigration officials, who are intending to return the boy to Cuba by January 14th, are ignoring the wishes of the boy. Elian himself appeared in the yard of his great-uncle's house several times on Saturday, at times looking like a normal, care-free 6-year-old, at others like a child who's been caught in the eye of an intensely emotional diplomatic storm. Brian Cabell, CNN, Miami.
Lawmakers' Involvement in Elian Gonzalez Case Brings Optimism to Relatives