elow is the letter, signed by Dennis Hastert, Dick Armey, Tom Delay, J.C. Watts, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, that has just been delivered by the House leadership to Juan Miguel's residence:

We extend to you the opportunity to express directly to us your wishes with respect to your son, Elián. We invite you to attend a private meeting on Wednesday, April 12th at 11:30 in room H-236 of the Capitol. It is important that you bring your wife and young son to the short meeting we have proposed.

We want you to have the freedom to express your true feelings during your visit without coercion and without intimidation. We believe that it would be appropriate to have this meeting in our nation's Capitol, because this building is the workplace of our democracy. We are a nation of laws, and our citizens have the freedom of speech and the freedom to petition the government. We believe that it would be a great mistake if you were not able to express directly your views.

While we know that you have had an opportunity over the past several days to meet with a few Members of Congress and the Attorney General of the United States — all of whom have expressed their desire to have you return to Cuba — you have not had the opportunity to meet with those who believe you should consider other alternatives. Having this meeting at the symbol of our nation's democracy is an altogether fitting and appropriate neutral location.

As parents, we sympathize with your obvious desire to be with your son. We also recognize that you are now confronting the most difficult decision you will ever face as a father. It involves the future welfare of Elián and your family.

We want to be sure that you are aware of all the options available to you as you make your decision.

---------------------------------------------------------

he latest [5:40 p.m.]: House leadership is delivering invitation letter to the house in Bethesda where Juan Miguel is staying. Developing...

---------------------------------------------------------

ore on House leadership invitation to Juan Miguel (see original story below): As of 1:30 p.m., current plans are for the proposed meeting to be scheduled for 11:30 a.m. tomorrow in the Speaker's Office in the U.S. Capitol. The expectation is that Juan Miguel's wife and younger son would join him at the meeting — if, that is, he is allowed to accept. Developing. . . .

---------------------------------------------------------

n a dramatic entry into the tug-of-war over Elian Gonzalez, the House leadership plans to invite the boy's father to Capitol Hill for a face-to-face meeting with congressional leaders.

Top House Republicans are worried that Juan Miguel has been in the U.S. for days — just miles from the U.S. Capitol — without having a conversation out of earshot of his Cuban minders or their allies in the Clinton Administration. This raises questions about how freely Juan Miguel is acting, even here in the United States. The leaders would speak frankly to Juan Miguel about the freedom and opportunities that await him and his son in the United States, to try to satisfy themselves that he is getting a full and fair picture of America.

As of 11:00 a.m., the invitation letter was still being drafted and the House leadership wasn't yet all on the same page about exactly how to move forward. But House Majority Leader Dick Armey and Majority Whip Tom DeLay are strongly behind making the invitation--so, at the very least, Republicans can say they provided an opportunity for Juan Miguel to speak frankly, free of his Cuban handlers, on American soil. Stay tuned for breaking developments...