"He has taken advantage."The case of Elian Gonzalez was first taken up by the CANF, which used the boy's image on posters to campaign against President Fidel Castro's planned appearance at last year's WTO summit in Seattle. Mr Moreno believes that they did not intend for it to become an all-encompassing struggle, but had to ride the wave of public opinion."People here have been surprised by how this became an issue. Some have painted themselves into a corner," he says."It's the emotional sectors that drown out everything else," says Mr Perez. "Some of the leadership who might have second thoughts either get carried along, or know that they must ride it, get in front of it even. The emotional sector forces compliance."In the course of the issue, it has shifted from being America versus Cuba to Little Havana versus the US, something which Mas Canosa tried to avoid: he wanted Cuban-Americans to be seen as patriots and loyal Americans, not sectionalists.

But leaders like Sanchez and other street politicians "view this as a cause of justice," says Mr Moreno."They have always been dubious of the support of the US government," he says, whereas for Jorge Mas Canosa it was essential to use the government rather than oppose it.Some see reason for optimism in the Elian case. One analyst says that Jorge Mas Jr would like to shift the organisation towards the centre, away from an extreme position that is always negative. "He understands that people-to-people exchanges and more opening might accomplish his goals But he's constrained," says one. The failure of the Elian case may help weaken the hold of the hardliners, and make it easier for a future administration to take on the anti-Castro lobby, some believe. They see a decline in commitment to La Causa amongst the younger generation, a fading of Cold War tensions.But Miguel Centeno of Princeton University, a member of a moderate Cuban American group, is pessimistic "They have shored up their percentage.

They have given a symbol to Miami, to Tallahassee (the state capital) and to Washington that they need to be taken seriously," he says. Drawing a comparison with Northern Ireland, he says: "I don't see a Trimble I see a lot of Paisleys," and adds "It's a perpetual motion machine of political hatred.". Janet Reno, the US Attorney General, would use force to return Elian Gonzalez to his father, news reports in the Washington Post said yesterday. Janet Reno, the US Attorney General, would use force to return Elian Gonzalez to his father, news reports in the Washington Post said yesterday. Ms Reno has played a prominent and controversial role in the saga of the six-year-old Cuban boy, who is the subject of a tussle between his Cuban father and his relatives in Miami.The attorney general used to live in south Florida and held office there, and the Cuban-American population of Little Havana in Miami regards her as a traitor.In a highly emotional meeting on Friday with Juan Miguel Gonzalez, the boy's father, Ms Reno promised to return the boy to him.