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"Wrong Way"
A 14-year-old West Miami-Dade boy ran away from home last week, boarded a plane and took a startling international flight alone – to Havana, his father said Tuesday. Alfredo Diaz, a 10th-grader at G. Holmes Braddock Senior High, cleared an American Airlines security check and boarded a Miami-to-Nassau flight on Thursday, even though the carrier requires escorts for anyone under 15."I can't believe my son was able to go through all that security and no one stopped him or asked him about being so young and traveling alone," I'm sure they made him take off his shoes said the father, who is also named Alfredo Diaz. "My son is just under five feet tall and he's a young-looking 14." Alfredo may have been caught up in some typical teenage angst. He had met a special girl during a visit to Cuba this summer, his father said. And in school, he was accused of cheating to try to win the class presidency. Martha PantÃn, local spokeswoman for American Airlines, confirmed Tuesday that the boy was checked onto Flight No. 4981, which left Miami International Airport Thursday morning. As identification, she said, Alfredo presented his alien registration card, which shows his birth date as Dec. 8, 1991 -- three months shy of 15 years ago. From the Bahamas, Alfredo likely used his Cuban passport, which he sneaked from his dad's strong box, for the flight to Havana, Diaz said. Diaz, who has legal resident status and came to the United States by way of Spain 12 years ago, said when he claimed his son six years ago from Cuba, the U.S. Interests Section in Havana kept his custody papers. He is now requesting copies. If he were here illegally they'd be coming out of the woodwork to help him. Diaz said he punished his son, briefly taking away his computer privileges and his beloved iPod. TORTURE! "I'm hoping he will spend a couple of months there without his computer, plasma TV, iPod, and he'll want to come back," the father said. "My son likes the good things in life. He won't find that in Cuba." But he'll have free health care, universal literacy, 4-hour speeches from El Jefe. OK, OK, it's just some nutty teenager mixed up over a girl. Still, going to Cuba... Posted by: Jackal 2006-09-28 |
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