Janet Reno's statement

Janet Reno said the US authorities had no choice

US Attorney-General Janet Reno said the authorities had no choice but to snatch Elian Gonzalez because the boy's relatives in Miami had repeatedly failed to hand him over as required by law. She said the authorities would ensure Elian remained in the country while a court considered his case.

The full text of Ms Reno's statement follows:

Earlier this morning, federal agents in Miami began to reunite Elian Gonzalez with his father, and uphold the rule of law.

As I speak, Elian is safe, he is on a plane headed for Andrews Air Force Base in Washington DC, where he will be reunited with his father for the first time in five months.

When the two are reunited, they will remain in the United States during the appellate process while the injunction is in place. And in accordance with the court of appeals ruling, we will take every step necessary to ensure that Elian does not leave the country while the court of appeals injunction is in place.

We have been to great lengths to resolve this case in the least disruptive manner possible. Up until the last, we tried every way we could to encourage Lazaro Gonzalez to voluntarily hand over the child to his father.

Elian Gonzalez is a child who needs to be cherished, who needs to have quiet time and private time, and to be with his father. And that is what this case is still all about - the bond between a father and a son.

Unfortunately, the Miami relatives rejected our efforts, leaving us no other option but the enforcement action.

Elian Gonzalez is a child who needs to be cherished, who needs to have quiet time and private time, and to be with his father. And that is what this case is still all about - the bond between a father and a son. Juan Miguel Gonzalez wants to be with his son, and that will happen now.

More than three months ago, the INS [Immigration and Naturalization Service] determined that only Juan Miguel Gonzalez could speak for his son on immigration matters.

From that moment, I could have taken action to return Elian to his father, but I did not. Instead, I gave the Miami relatives a chance to challenge my decision in federal district court. They did, and the court sided with the government. It ruled that this was a federal case and that the INS was right to say that the father speaks for the child.

Two weeks ago, a state family court turned away the Miami relatives as well. In a strongly worded opinion, the judge said not only that the matter belonged in federal court, but that a six-year-old boy is far too young to make life-altering decisions on his own.

That same week, I travelled to Miami to try to encourage the family members to work out a resolution. The relatives in Miami said all they wanted was a meeting with Juan Miguel Gonzalez before turning over the child. But when I arranged that meeting, they still refused to produce the child.

This morning, I commenced an operation, with the paramount concern being the well-being of Elian, the safety of the agents and others.

Every step of the way, the Miami relatives kept moving the goal post and raising more hurdles. That is why I finally directed the relatives to turn over the child nine days ago.

That deadline carried great significance. When Lazaro Gonzalez didn't comply, parole and care was revoked. That means that for the past nine days, Lazaro Gonzalez has not had lawful custody of Elian.

When the INS places an unaccompanied child into the care of an adult, that adult is required to comply with the directives of the INS . To maintain, as the Miami relatives did, that the INS somehow lacks authority over the immigration parole of a minor in the US, simply ignores the law.

So this morning, I commenced an operation, with the paramount concern being the well-being of Elian, the safety of the agents and others. After negotiating through the night, I informed the parties that time had run out. At that moment, I gave the go-ahead for the operation.

After I had set the operation in motion, the intermediaries called back to offer one more counter-offer. I indicated that I was willing to continue to engage in dialogue, but that time had run out.

I did, until the final moments, try to reach a voluntary solution. Law enforcement personnel were on the scene, were authorised to and did make the final call as to when to enter the Gonzalez home, because this was a very carefully timed law enforcement operation.

Eight agents were in the house during the operation. They were there for three minutes. During that time, a female agent picked up Elian and spoke to him in Spanish. The agents then took Elian to Watson Island, where they bordered a helicopter bound for Homestead Air Force Base. There he was examined by a doctor to make sure that there were no injuries. At that point, he was bordered onto a US Marshal's plane headed to Washington DC, where is father was anxiously awaiting for his son.

This has been a very emotional case for everyone involved. The most important thing is that Elian is safe and that no one was seriously hurt.

As we all await the outcome of the appellate process, I think it is important for us all to accept Elian's long overdue reunion with his father. It is time to heal wounds that have divided a community. It is time to help this little boy heal from the tragedies that he has experienced.

Let us give him and his father the space, the calm, the moral support they need to reconnect and reaffirm their bond between father and son.