By Sylvia Moreno and Philip P. Pan
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday , April 24, 2000 ; A01

A world away from the Cuban exile community that has wrapped them in warmth these past few months, the Miami relatives of
young Elian Gonzalez wandered the chilly, less welcoming landscape of Washington yesterday. Pursued by reporters, they
were blocked from seeing the boy by soldiers at a high-security air base and found no way to deliver a pink-and-white bag of
Easter goodies they brought for the child.

In their quest to recover the 6-year-old refugee who was snatched from their home a day earlier by armed federal agents, the
Miami relatives found some comfort from politicians and a few local supporters who waved signs at Andrews Air Force Base
or wished them well during an Easter Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on the edge of
Catholic University.

But they were very much the visitors in the nation's capital, on an odyssey that all but cut them off from the network of
supporters in Miami's Little Havana who have rallied behind them. They spent the night in a Georgetown hotel and the day
being ferried about town in a red sport utility vehicle and a tan minivan by local representatives of the Cuban American National
Foundation.

The morning started with an emotional, two-hour news conference at the Dirksen Senate Office Building sponsored by U.S.
Sen. Robert C. Smith (R-N.H.), who has taken up the relatives' cause and hosted them for Easter dinner last night.

Alternately sobbing, speaking angrily and appearing emotionally exhausted, cousin Marisleysis Gonzalez lashed out at the force
used to seize Elian and at the government she said had betrayed them in the middle of negotiations.

"Bill Clinton, I want you in front of me, and I want Janet Reno in front of me to explain to me why they did this," she said,
waving the now-famous photograph of a helmeted government agent pointing a submachine gun toward a terrified Elian. "We
are not an aggressive family, and they knew we did not have guns."

She appealed for help: "I ask Americans to call whoever they have to call and to stand up next to me. . . . I have to see this
boy."

But Gonzalez, who the Miami relatives say has acted as a surrogate mother to Elian in recent months, faced aggressive
questioning by journalists when she accused the U.S. government of drugging the boy and disputed the authenticity of
photographs showing the smiling child hugging his father.

Afterward, she and the others set out for Andrews Air Force Base in Prince George's County, where Elian, his father, Juan
Miguel Gonzalez, and other family members spent a quiet holiday in distinguished visitors quarters located in a grassy area with
a playground nearby. Father and son walked outside a bit but remained out of public view.

The relatives pulled up to the base shortly before noon. They spoke with an official at the gate for about five minutes.

Kirk Reagan Menendez, executive director of the Cuban American National Foundation and a translator for Elian's great-uncle
Lazaro Gonzalez, said the family was rebuffed three times. "We asked if we could enter, and they said no. We asked if we
could go to the visitors center, and they said no. We asked if we could deliver the Easter basket, and they said no. So we left,"
Menendez said.

Bill Lictovich, a spokesman for the U.S. Marshals service, said the family was not receiving visitors or packages. He said Elian
was "enjoying quiet time with his family."

The Miami relatives had planned to hold a news conference in the parking lot of the Holiday Inn Express across from the base.
But when four or five cameramen approached the vehicles as the relatives prepared to get out, they changed their plan and
drove off, upset that reporters were being so aggressive and unruly.

A crowd of anti-Castro protesters greeted the relatives when they tried to visit Elian on Saturday, but only a few remained
outside the base yesterday. Last night, about 10 people from the Christian Defense Coalition prayed for about eight minutes
just outside the entrance booth to the base before military police asked them to leave.

Earlier, Andres Pujol, 41, of Sterling, drove his wife and two children to the base after Easter services. "No matter what
happens, Elian should not go back to Cuba," he said. "When I was living there, I was always hungry. . . . There's nothing to eat,
there's not even milk for the babies."

Doris Conroy and Bill Eck drove four hours from Manville, N.J., to protest the government action. But passing motorists
yesterday honked at them and shouted, "Go home!"

Worshipers at the midafternoon Mass the relatives attended later were supportive.

The nine members of the Miami contingent--five relatives, a fisherman who rescued Elian, a lawyer and two supporters from
the Cuban American community--entered the large church 15 minutes late. They sat in the nearly empty last third of the
sanctuary, ignoring the gaggle of journalists and photographers surrounding them. Marisleysis Gonzalez, wearing a large
black-and-silver crucifix on a chain around her neck, cried quietly off and on during the service.

When it ended, Olga Escalana, of Arlington and Venezuela, walked up to her and clasped her hand. "I congratulate what you
said earlier," Escalana said. Then, she turned to Lazaro Gonzalez and added: "I just wish I had a daughter like yours."

Another worshiper, Florence Blanco, of the District, approached Donato Dalrymple, the fisherman, and shyly asked him to tell
the family that "the people of Washington, D.C., give their welcome and support."

Staff writers Amy Argetsinger, Steven Gray, Steve Vogel and Emily Wax contributed to this report.

                                 © 2000 The Washington Post Company