The United States said Tuesday it was in contact with authorities in Havana about the alleged kidnapping of two small boys who were reported to have been taken to Cuba by their parents.
Authorities in Florida have been searching for Joshua Michael Hakken since Wednesday when he allegedly broke into his mother-in-law’s house near Tampa, tied her up and fled with his sons, ages two and four.
The sheriff’s office in Hillsborough County, Florida said Hakken lost custody of the children after being arrested in Louisiana on drug charges in June 2012 following what police described as “an anti-government rally.”
The State Department said it was aware of reports that Hakken, who had recently bought a 25-foot sailboat, was now in Cuba, and that the US Interests Section was in contact with local authorities.
“US officials are providing all appropriate assistance to the family. Because of privacy reasons, we are unable to provide additional information about the specific family,” said State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell.
Ventrell said the United States and Cuba have no bilateral agreement for handling such cases, and Cuba was not a signatory of the 1996 Hague Convention on protection of children.
“In countries where there is not a framework or where they’re not members of the convention or there’s not a specific bilateral framework, we work with the government on a case-by-case basis and try to work through the issues, and that would include the Cubans,” Ventrell said.
US in contact with Cuba on child kidnapping case
