Grandmothers flown in to see 6-year-old Cuban boy MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Elian Gonzalez and his grandmothers arrived yesterday at a "neutral site" for a reunion that had to be arranged by the U.S. government because of the personal and political passions swirling around the 6-year-old Cuban boy. Elian was driven to a nun's house in Miami Beach to see his grandmothers, who had flown in from Wangton and were then brought to the home in a helicopter. The grandmothers came to the United States last week to appeal directly to the American people and Congress to send the boy back to his father in Cuba. Elian's relatives in Miami want him to stay and are fighting a U.S. government order sending him back. The grandmothers were to see Elian privately, with the boy's Florida relatives nearby in the house. Justice Department spokesperson Carole Florman said the women would not be allowed to take the boy home with them afterward. A lawyer for Elian's relatives, Spencer Eig, said the visit was expected to last two hours. A few people tossed flowers at the car that took the women from the helicopter to the house. Some demonstrators outside the home cheered and others booed as the grandmothers were driven by. The grandmothers had also flown to Miami on Monday but left town without seeing Elian. They said they were uncomfortable going to the house in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood where the relatives have been caring for the boy. Anti-Castro Cuban immigrants have been holding protests around the home. Mariela Quintana and Raquel Rodriguez had not seen their grandson since before he left Cuba for the United States with his mother, who died along with 10 other people when their boat capsized. Elian was found clinging to an inner tube off the Florida coast on Nov. 25. The reunion was being held at the home of Sister Jeanne O'Laughlin, president of Barry University. O'Laughlin, has a history of helping immigrants and had said she would serve as "welcomer" and "hugger." On Capitol Hill, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott indicated he has no solid plans for handling legislation next week to give Elian U.S. citizenship, which would remove the boy from the jurisdiction of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the agency that ordered him back to Cuba. "There are a lot of extenuating circumstances," Lott said. "Obviously it could come up next week. But there are a lot of people looking at this issue and there may be developments between now and then." The two grandmothers met with several members of Congress this week and asked them not to pass such a bill. "It's our right to see our grandson and take him back home," said Quintana, the child's paternal grandmother. AP PHOTO Unidentified Cuban military students wave flags during a rally at a Havana military school Tuesday as they listen to speeches and songs calling for the return of 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez to his father in Cuba. Originally on page 9A in the 1-27-2000 issue of the Daily.