MIAMI -- By Glenna Milberg
Local 10 Reporter
MIAMI -- The mother of the 4-year old Cuban girl in the middle of an international custody fight not only admitted lying under oath again, but explained why.

"I lie out of necessity just to help the father of my daughter," said Elena Perez.

Perez, who wants Judge Jeri Cohen to grant custody to the girl's father, Rafael Izquierdo, lashed out at Izquierdo's attorneys, accusing Magda Montiel Davis of devising a plot that would make it appear Izquierdo was interested in his daughter's well-being after she moved to the United States with her mother.

Izquierdo plans to raise his daughter in Cuba if he is granted custody.

Admitted as evidence are two letters Perez had testified she had received from Izquierdo and dozens of photographs Perez had claimed to have sent to him in Cuba. Perez now says there were no letters or photos sent and it was Izquierdo’s attorney who devised the scheme.

"She told me that this was needed for the father. Now she's denying it. She treated me like an imbecile," said Perez.

Perez also testified that Davis paid her rent and telephone bill when she ran out of money and that she had been living rent free with Davis' secretary.

Cohen arranged subsidized housing for Perez because she said she was concerned at the appearance of impropriety.

During Perez's testimony, Davis sat calmly and, at times, smiled and chatted with Izquierdo, seated next to her.

Outside the courthouse, Davis' husband and co-counsel on the case, Ira Kurzban, denied the accusations.

Attorneys for the Florida Department of Children and Families argue the 4-year old would be emotionally harmed if she were taken from the foster parents who have been raising her since April 2006. Former sports agent Joe Cubas and his wife Maria are hoping to become the child’s permanent legal guardians.