Cuban man wins custody of daughter in U.S.

MIAMI – A judge on Tuesday approved a settlement in an international custody dispute that gives a Cuban farmer custody of his 5-year-old daughter, who came to the U.S. with her mother two years ago.

State officials had supported efforts by the girl’s wealthy U.S. foster family to adopt the girl, accusing her father, Rafael Izquierdo, of abandoning and neglecting her. But in the settlement, reached last week, all sides agreed that Izquierdo should get sole custody, provided that he and his daughter stay in the U.S. until 2010, and the foster parents get regular visits.

“I think it’s the right thing to do. I know it wasn’t easy,” Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Jeri B. Cohen said during the hearing. “What you’ve agreed to is in the best interest of (the child).”

The girl, her half brother and their mother emigrated from Cuba to the United States in 2005.

The foster parents, former sports agent Joe Cubas and his wife, Maria, cared for the children after their mother became suicidal. The Cubases, who live in Coral Gables, have since adopted the girl’s brother and wanted to do the same with her.