Anti-Castro Terrorist Free In Miami May Finally Face Justice - Political Forum

Catch .22 · #1 (**permalink**) 02-27-2008, 07:24 PM

Terrorism probes still haunting Posada at 80

Terrorism probes still haunting Posada at 80 - 02/26/2008 - MiamiHerald.com

Quote:

Luis Posada Carriles, the anti-Castro Cuban militant, celebrated his 80th birthday this month at an undisclosed location in Miami, but many serious legal and political questions about his alleged crimes as a younger man still loom as large as ever.

In New Jersey, Posada is the ''target'' of a federal grand jury investigation into the series of 1997 tourist-site bombings in Havana, his attorney Arturo Hernandez confirmed to The Miami Herald. Posada has denied any involvement in the bombings.

In Washington, Posada's alleged role in the bombing of a 1976 Cuban airliner that killed 73 people is being revisited by a Democratic lawmaker from Massachusetts who plans to hold congressional hearings on the matter in the spring.

And Posada's immigration status remains an issue with the Justice Deparment, which is pressing its appeal of a Texas judge's decision to dismiss an indictment that charged the Cuban with lying about his 2005 entry into the United States.

Indeed, everyone seems to have something to say about the former CIA-trained explosives expert who remains a freedom fighter in the minds of some and an international terrorist in the eyes of others.

Posada isn't talking to the media, but his attorney says the octogenarian is an innocent man in poor health who wants to spend the rest of his life in Miami among family, friends and exiles.

MOST SERIOUS

Perhaps Posada's most serious legal challenge is in Newark, N.J., where a federal grand jury, now in its third year, is weighing whether to indict Posada on conspiracy charges for the killing of an Italian tourist in a 1997 hotel bombing in Havana.

Justice officials won't comment, but they have a fax and other documents showing that Posada allegedly coordinated $3,200 in wire transfers from Cuban exiles in New Jersey to co-conspirators in Central America for the bombing campaign. Also, FBI agents have questioned jailed bombing recruits in Cuba and key witnesses in the United States and Central America familiar with Posada's alleged mission to disrupt the Cuban tourism industry.

One potential witness -- a notable writer who coauthored a 1998 New York Times series on Posada's history of violent activities against former Cuban leader Fidel Castro -- said she received grand jury subpoenas but has not testified before the New Jersey panel.

The series was based on her six-hour interview, most of it tape-recorded, with Posada in which he admitted to masterminding the Havana tourist-site bombings.

''They do not need me,'' author Ann Louise Bardach said.

Rep. William Delahunt, a Massachusetts Democrat, is more than willing to enter the political fray.

But Delahunt's interest has nothing to do with the 1997 bombings. He's interested in Posada's alleged role in the bombing of a 1976 Cuban airliner that killed 73 people, including members of the Cuban national fencing team.

Posada was acquitted by a Venezuelan military tribunal. While awaiting a retrial by a civil court in Venezuela, Posada escaped from prison in 1985.

Delahunt, annoyed by the government's lack of response to Venezuela's extradition request to try Posada, has drafted a resolution calling on the administration to urge the United Nations to create an ad hoc tribunal to prosecute him. He also plans to hold more public hearings on Capitol Hill.

''You cannot talk about a war on terror while Posada is still running around [South] Florida,'' said Caleb Rossiter, one of Delahunt's top aides.

SOME SUPPORT

But Posada has supporters in Washington, mainly Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a Republican from California.

In defending Posada, Rohrabacher points out that a 1977 taped interview by a New York-based journalist reveals that he never admitted to planting the airliner bomb.

In a Jan. 30 letter to a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee, Rohrabacher said testimony by journalist Blake Fleetwood was inconsistent with the reporter's own tapes.

Fleetwood said Rohrabacher has distorted his statements. In an e-mail to The Miami Herald, Fleetwood wrote: "There is no doubt in my mind, from what Posada told me during my interview, that Posada was deeply involved in the conspiracy that culminated in the planting of the bomb and the deaths of 73 innocent civilians.''

Hernandez denied that his client was involved in any way and dismissed allegations of terrorism.

"He's not a terrorist. He's never been a terrorist.''

From the 1998 New York Times article...

Quote:

A BOMBERS TALE: Taking Aim at Castro; Key Cuba Foe Claims Exiles' Backing - New York Times
*snip*

Mr. Posada proudly admitted authorship of the hotel bomb attacks last year. He described them as acts of war intended to cripple a totalitarian regime by depriving it of foreign tourism and investment.

''We didn't want to hurt anybody,'' he said. ''We just wanted to make a big scandal so that the tourists don't come anymore. We don't want any more foreign investment.''

The bombs were also intended, Mr. Posada said, to sow doubts abroad about the stability of the regime, to make Cuba think he had operatives in the military and to encourage internal opposition. ''People are not afraid anymore,'' he said. ''They talk openly in the street. But they need something to start the fire, and that's my goal.''

**

For several months the attacks did indeed discourage tourism. With a rueful chuckle, Mr. Posada described the Italian tourist's death as a freak accident, but he declared that he had a clear conscience, saying, ''I sleep like a baby.''

''It is sad that someone is dead, but we can't stop,'' he added. ''That Italian was sitting in the wrong place at the wrong time.''

**

I dont think this guy walking free in Miami is going to win the US, or the Cuban community in Miami, any friends back in Cuba... or make the "War on Terror" look like a legitimate fight against terrorism to the rest of the world. But it must be a tricky one, what to do with this guy... I expect him to be found dead before he ever sees any jail time.

Shiva_TD · #2 (**permalink**) 03-03-2008, 05:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tuatara

Don't forget the US is also harboring well known terrorist Orlando Bosch. This only shows the hypocrisy of the Bush administration. Anyone who says the US is fighting terrorism need to check their facts.

Orlando Bosch is certainly an example of historic US support for terrorism and sadly we continue to support terrorist organizations around the world today.