Grandmothers Leave for Cuba Without Securing Elian’s Return

CHANTILLY, Va. —  Elian Gonzalez’s grandmothers flew back to Cuba on Sunday without the 6-year-old boy who is at the center of an international custody battle, convinced that he will not find happiness in the United States. “We are leaving, but Elian is still here,” his paternal grandmother, Mariela Quintana, said.

Quintana and Raquel Rodriquez left from Dulles International Airport. Cuba’s government had planned a rally to welcome them home Sunday.

Elian’s grandmothers spent more than a week in the United States campaigning for the boy’s return to his father in Cuba. The boy’s fate has been uncertain since he was found clinging to an inner tube Nov. 25 off the Florida coast. His mother and 10 others drowned during an effort to leave Cuba.