Urgent Message to
the Attorney General of the United States and
President Clinton from The Cuban-American
Psychiatric Association.
Released to the National media on the evening of
April 21, 2000.
The Cuban-American Psychiatric Association
strongly disagrees with the Justice Department
plans to abruptly remove Elian Gonzalez from the
care of his surrogate mother, Marisleysis, and
his Miami family based on recommendations by a
Justice Department mental health appointed team.
The said mental health team appointed by the U.S.
Justice Department never met or examined the
child in question, Elian Gonzalez.
In contrast, the repeated recommendations by
psychiatrists, psychologists, and pediatricians
who have evaluated and are treating the child are
being ignored. The medical and mental health
professional who are validly taking care of the
child have not observed signs of
"psychological abuse" or "imminent
danger requiring a swift action by the U.S.
Justice Department.
We are evaluating the possibility of serious
infringement of the psychiatric ethics code by
the two psychiatrists appointed by the U.S.
Department of Justice. We are in the process of
elaborating and expect to file soon the proper
ethical violations complaints.
We concur with the three-judge U.S. Federal
Appeals Court panel in that this child, Elian
Gonzalez, must be heard. The Cuban-American
Psychiatric Association recommends to the
Attorney General, Janet Janet Reno, that before
an y action is taken, this child and his
environment must be clinically seen and
professionally evaluated by truly independent
psychiatrists.
The real imminent danger to Elian is be abruptly
and forcefully removed from his surrogate mother
and loving Miami family.
Contact person: Jose de la Gándara, M.D. Dr de
la Gándara is the current president of the
Cuban-American Psychiatric Association. He
practices psychiatry in South Florida.
Dr de la Gándara's office is located at
2161 Palm Beach Lakes Blvds, suite 215 in West
Palm Beach, Florida 33409. He can be reached at
561-687-2111.
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