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Dec 4, 2007 6:44 pm US/Eastern
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Father Wins In Cuban Custody Dispute
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
A Cuban father, who has been fighting for the custody of his daughter in a South Florida court, is celebrating victory Tuesday.
The young Cuban girl at the center of an international custody dispute will be given to her biological father, under a settlement approved by a judge Tuesday.
The settlement was reached last week. Under its terms, Cuban farmer Rafael Izquierdo and his 5-year-old daughter are to remain in the United States until 2010, during which time her foster parents will have regular visits with her.
The foster parents, former sports agent Joe Cubas and his wife Maria, cared for the girl and her half brother after their mother became suicidal when she emigrated from Cuba to the United States in 2005. The Cubases, who live in Coral Gables, have since adopted the girl's brother and wanted to do the same with her.
Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Jeri B. Cohen ruled in September that Izquierdo is a fit parent and did not abandon his daughter when her mother brought her to the United States.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)