Cuban leader finally meets Elian

HAVANA - Cuban President Fidel Castro has finally met the 6-year-old boy who was the focus of his politics for much of the past seven months, official media reports said Saturday.

Castro visited Elian Gonzalez's family Friday to congratulate the child for completing first grade, according to Granma, the Communist Party daily.

The reports did not say where the meeting took place, but the government had prepared a house in west Havana for Elian, his father Juan Miguel and their family following the child's return from the United States.

''Comrade Fidel visited Juan Miguel and his family and was able to meet and greet Elian,'' said Radio Reloj. It said Castro gave Elian a copy of ''The Golden Age,'' a children's book by Cuban independence hero Jose Marti.

Castro wrote a dedication in the book: ''For when you are in the fourth or fifth grade and can enjoy one of the most tender works of Marti.''

It was the first reported meeting between the Cuban leader and Elian since the child returned from the United States on June 28. Castro had pledged that Cuba would avoid making the center of a media circus on his return to the island.

State television reported Friday night that Elian had received his first-grade diploma after a special effort by teachers to help him recover the time lost during his tumultuous stay in the United States.

Elian survived a boat sinking that killed his mother and 10 other would-be emigres trying to reach Florida.

After the child was rescued Nov. 25, a dispute over custody between relatives in the United States and his father in Cuba became a major international incident involving Castro and top U.S. officials.