Elián González may travel in a Cuban delegation.

 BY STEWART STOGEL, TIM JOHNSON AND ELAINE DE VALLE
 tjohnson@krwashington.com

 UNITED NATIONS -- Elián González, the young Cuban castaway who triggered a seven-month, wrenching international tug of war
 over his custody, might set foot again on U.S. soil.

 Cuban diplomats say the Foreign Ministry in Havana is considering whether to include Elián as one of several youths the nation will
 send to next month's U.N. children's summit, which will draw at least 74 heads of state and government from around the world.

 No decision has been made, and it was not immediately clear whether Cuban officials had even broached the subject with Elián's
 father, Juan Miguel González, who has permitted his 7-year-old son to appear with Cuban President Fidel Castro during several
 recent rallies.

 During the emotional battle over Elián's custody last year, Castro's government said the boy would not serve as a political trophy
 were he returned to Cuba.

 ``Mr. Castro promised that he would not utilize Elián González for political purposes. Maybe he forgot,'' said Frank Calzón,
 executive director of the Center for a Free Cuba, in Washington, D.C.

 In Miami, Elián's great uncle said his family was shocked by the news that the boy they sheltered for seven months may again
 come to the United States.

 ``It is an enormous surprise,'' said Lázaro González, standing before a cluster of microphones, once again in front of the house
 where the boy stayed in Little Havana.

 González said that just the announced desire to bring the boy -- whether he actually accompanies the Cuban delegation to New
 York or not -- shows the true intentions Castro had when he fought for Elián's return.

 ``It proves to the world that we knew what we were saying -- that the boy was not going back to his father, he was going back to
 Castro, to a political game,'' González said. ``He is being used as a political trophy. We know that if Elián is brought here, it is for
 a political reason. It is not for nothing. It is not for vacation.''

 The Miami relatives have not had contact with the boy since he was whisked from the home in a pre-dawn federal raid in April of
 last year.

 ``I think this proves the theory that the Cuban-American community always argued. We always said that Fidel Castro was going to
 use this boy for his political gain,'' said Joe Garcia, executive director of the Cuban American National Foundation.

 Castro is not scheduled to attend the Sept. 19-21 U.N. children's summit in New York, but diplomats said he may change his mind
 if he receives an appeal from former South African President Nelson Mandela this week at the World Conference Against Racism
 in Durban, South Africa.

 ``Castro will meet Mandela in Durban,'' a Cuban diplomat said. ``If Mandela asks Castro to come to New York, [Castro] most likely
 will reconsider.''

 Legally, Elián could come to New York City unrestricted.

 As part of the Cuban delegation, he would have diplomatic immunity and remain out of the reach of his Miami relatives. While the
 U.S. government might try to block his visa, even that would be on shaky grounds, since Washington by treaty can't control visits
 to U.N. functions by member countries.