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International Custody Fight Win Brings Smiles, Struggles

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The Associated Press

Published: May 5, 2008

MIAMI - The 5-year-old with hazel eyes and a bouncy ponytail swung across the monkey bars as her Cuban father, Rafael Izquierdo, proudly watched nearby, ready to catch her.

"Look at me go, Papi!" she squealed, just before she dropped into his waiting arms.

In the six months since Izquierdo regained custody of his daughter after a high-profile court case, the two have developed a deep bond. It is one they never shared when the girl lived in Cuba with her mother, let alone after she came to the United States and sparked an intense, international custody battle.

Yet in reclaiming one child, Izquierdo has found himself separated from nearly everything and everyone else he loves. He lives alone with his daughter in the United States, jobless - a pariah to many Cuban-Americans who cannot fathom why he would want to return the girl to the poverty-stricken, communist island.

Last month, Izquierdo's wife, Yanara Alvarez returned to Cuba to take advantage of the country's free medical care during their son's birth. Their daughter Rachel, 7, went with her. Mother and daughter have yet to receive permission from U.S. immigration authorities to return to Miami, Izquierdo's attorney said.

Meanwhile, Izquierdo has received no guarantee that if he leaves for a weekend to visit them, he can return.

"I'm sad that I'm not there with them. What does a father want more than to be with his family and receive his son?" Izquierdo told The Associated Press. The AP has agreed not to use the girl's name.

Some days it is difficult for Izquierdo, a pig and potato farmer, to understand how he got to this place. "In my village," he said, "people knew me, but I wasn't famous."

It is a complicated story. During a separation from Alvarez, Izquierdo had a brief affair and his lover got pregnant. After their daughter's birth, she took the girl to the United States with his permission.

But the woman was deeply troubled and soon lost custody of her daughter, who ended up with wealthy Cuban-American foster parents. They doted on her and wanted to keep her.

To complicate matters, the foster parents adopted the girl's older brother. Eventually, Izquierdo cut a deal. He got custody of his daughter, but he can't take her out of the U.S. until May 2010, and her former foster parents get her for two weekends a month.

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