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An Update from JW's Southern Regional Headquarters Depositions began this month in a lawsuit against the United States Government on behalf of 108 peaceful protesters who were gassed and beaten on April 22, 2000 by federal agents. Ordered by Clinton Attorney General Janet Reno, the 150 Immigration and Naturalization Service agents violently entered the Little Havana home where Elian Gonzalez lived with his relatives. Judicial Watch represents the peaceful protesters who were kicked, pushed, punched and sprayed with gas. Among those deposed this month at the United States Attorney's office in Miami, were two elderly women who were beaten, a relative of the Gonzalez family temporarily blinded after being sprayed with gas and a Gonzalez family friend shoved to the ground and held at gunpoint. The most compelling testimony came from 76-year-old Eva Espinosa, a frail woman who was brutally pushed to the ground by INS agents clad in riot gear and later sprayed with massive doses of gas. Espinosa broke down and cried throughout her deposition as she recalled the violent raid ordered by Reno in order to return Elian to communist Cuba. Seventy-year-old Lidia Betancort-Garcia also broke down in tears as she told Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Handler how she and other elderly women and children were trampled by Reno's government agents who stormed into the Little Havana neighborhood in the predawn hours of Holy Saturday, a sacred day for many Christians. "We were not treated like human beings," Betancort-Garcia said. "I couldn't believe something like this could happen in this country. I am a U.S. citizen and for the first time I was ashamed of my government." Depositions will continue in the months to come. Sidebar: Agents from the INS who carried out the raid showed no remorse after they completed their "mission." In fact, INS Director Robert Wallis said it was the "proudest moment of his life," when he saw a photo of an INS agent standing over the Gonzalez family bodyguard with a gun in his back. Wallis' admission came during Judicial Watch's successful efforts in a case on behalf of INS agent Rick Ramirez, who charged the Miami office with anti-Cuban, anti-Hispanic discrimination. Judicial Watch earned a favorable settlement on behalf of Mr. Ramirez.
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