[Natalie Allen, Cnn Anchor:] Cubans by the thousands are showing their frustration today at the continued refusal of American courts to let Elian Gonzalez come home. There now have been three separate court rulings that side with Elian's father and against Elian's Miami relatives, yet the child remains barred from leaving the U.S. while the relatives file further appeals. And that's the reason the Cuban government called on half-a-million mothers and grandmothers to rally today outside the U.S. Interest Section in Havana. CNN's Lucia Newman is there, too, she joins us now by phone Lucia.
[Lucia Newman, Cnn Havana Bureau Chief:] Good afternoon, Natalie. Well, the Cuban government's response, indeed, to the Atlanta appeals court ruling, which prevents Elian Gonzalez from returning home immediately, was an unprecedented march even by Cuban standards; with tens of thousands of women marching past the U.S. diplomatic mission here. The protests included a new chant, women said yelled actually, as they went past the building: Down with the hoax, liberate Elian. Now the march was literally organized overnight by the government and the various organizations affiliated with Cuba's Communist Party. Havana nearly came to a standstill while the women marched, led by Elian's grandmothers. They later joined President Fidel Castro for a rally at the protest plaza that faces the U.S. Interest Section. There is a lot of frustration here because even though the Atlanta appeals court ruling did favor Elian Gonzalez's father and certainly the family here, the boy is not free to return here yet. And they say that it is outrageous that the family in Miami is still being given another opportunity to appeal, they don't understand that. The Cuban government says that this yet another sign, another symbol of the abuse of "Yankee imperialism" against Cuba. This is Lucia Newman, reporting live from Havana.
[Andria Hall, Cnn Anchor:] Thanks, Lucia.