Reno Tells Oprah: No Regrets
Attorney General Janet Reno says she has no regrets about her decision to send federal agents to seize Elian Gonzalez from his Miami relatives April 22.
Reno commented on the controversial case via satellite from Washington during a live airing of The Oprah Winfrey Show.
Reno says she ordered the raid on the Miami relatives' home only after the relatives refused all proposals to peacefully hand over the 6-year-old Cuban boy to his father. The father and son are staying at a private home on Maryland's eastern shore, pending a court appeal by the relatives to keep Elian in the United States.
Asked whether she had considered Waco in making the decision into raid the home of Elian's relatives, Reno said, "This situation is different than Waco. But what did enter into my mind is the community I love and people I love.
"My Cuban friends are furious with me. They feel betrayed and hurt, but they have contributed so much to a community that is still young. Miami became a city in 1896 with only 15,000 people. There is probably no other city in America that has grown so fast in such dramatic ways and the Cuban community has contributed a great deal. I think it's time for us all to come together -- father and son, communities, people who care about each other -- to make democracy work."
Reno's decision to use force has drawn intense criticism from congressional Republicans and Miami's Cuban-American community.
Winfrey also asked Reno, who is suffering from Parkinson's Disease about her health.
"All it does is make me shake," she said to a round of applause. "I can still think. I can still climb mountains."
She admitted the symptoms often were exacerbated by stress. "But sometimes I am feeling my calmest -- I shake," she said, "and sometimes when I am totally stressed out, I don't shake. It's a mysterious disease."
©2000 CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report