Luis Posada Carriles, the Cuban American National Foundation, and narcoterrorism

Fabian Escalante: “Los que protegen hoy a Posada son los mismos que conspiraron contra Kennedy”  1/12/2011 Cuba Debate: de Jean Guy Allard - "Para Fabián, que investiga desde ańos cada aspecto del asesinato del mandatario estadounidense, varios de los personajes que hoy siguen vinculados al mecanismo terrorista que da apoyo a Posada, se encontraban ya entre los miembros de la Operación 40, montada por la CIA paralelamente a la fracasada invasión de Playa Giron para liquidar a los dirigentes de la Revolución cubana y reprimir a sus partidarios. Y es entre estos agentes y colaboradores criminales de la CIA que aparecieron varios individuos vinculados al asesinato, en Dallas, de John Fitzerald Kennedy. “Esto es la mata de todos los terroristas,” seńala Escalante acerca de esta organización fundada por la CIA que sigue activa, con locales en el centro de Miami, beneficiándose de la complacencia e incluso la protección del FBI y de los Fiscales federales… Además de Posada, siguen exhibiéndose hoy en Miami, Félix Rodríguez Mendigutía, el asesino del Che; Antonio Veciana, fundador de Alpha 66; Orlando Bosch, cómplice de Posada en la destrucción de un avión civil cubano; Guillermo Novo Sampoll, asociado al asesinato del ex ministro chileno Letelier; Virgilio Paz Romero y Jose Dionisio Suarez, los ejecutores del crimen; Gaspar ‘Gasparito’ Jimenez Escobedo, asesino de Artagnan Díaz Díaz; Pedro Remón Rodriguez, asesino de Felix García Rodriguez y Eulalio Negrín, en Nueva York; Jose Basulto y otros más."

THE CIA FILE ON LUIS POSADA CARRILES  1/11/2011 National Security Archive: "As the unprecedented trial of Cuban exile Luis Posada Carriles begins this week in El Paso, Texas, the National Security Archive today posted a series of CIA records covering his association with the agency in the 1960s and 1970s."

Former CIA Asset Luis Posada Goes to Trial  1/8/2011 Global Research: "In the annals of modern justice, the Posada trial stands out as one of the most bizarre and disreputable of legal proceedings. The man identified by US intelligence reports as a mastermind of the midair destruction of a Cuban airliner—all seventy-three people on board were killed when the plane plunged into the sea off the coast of Barbados on October 6, 1976—and who publicly bragged about being behind a series of hotel bombings in Havana that killed an Italian businessman, Fabio Di Celmo, is being prosecuted for perjury and fraud, not murder and mayhem. The handling of his case during the Bush years became an international embarrassment and reflected poorly on the willingness and/or abilities of the Justice Department to prosecute crimes of terror when that terrorist was once an agent and ally of America. For the Obama administration, the verdict will carry significant implications for US credibility in the fight against terrorism, as well as for the future of US-Cuban relations."

En la Televisión Cubana nuevas revelaciones sobre Luis Posada Carriles  1/7/2011 Cuba Debate: "En el proceso judicial de dos días que tuvo lugar en la Sala de los Delitos contra la Seguridad del Estado del Tribunal Provincial Popular de Ciudad de La Habana, Chávez Abarca reconoció plenamente su culpabilidad al describir las circunstancias de su reclutamiento y de las operaciones que Posada le encargó. En un momento del interrogatorio de más de 200 preguntas que le hizo la Fiscalía, el acusado cuenta como viajó a Cuba con explosivos escondidos “debajo de la plantilla” de sus zapatos."

Enlace entre Posada Carriles y Chávez Abarca es asesor del Partido ARENA de El Salvador  9/30/2010 Cuba Debate: de Jean Guy Allard - "José Ramón Sanfeliú Rivera, el gerente de Talleres Moldtrok, de San Salvador, que reclutó a Francisco Chávez Abarca como ayudante de Luis Posada Carriles, se desempeńa en la actualidad como asesor del partido de extrema derecha ARENA, principal grupo de oposición salvadoreńo."

Italia: jefe de los 23 agentes CIA condenados “traficó” en Honduras, con la red de Posada  11/7/2009 Habla Honduras: "“Bob” Seldon Lady, el ex jefe de la estación de la CIA en Milán, quien dirigía a los 23 agentes de la CIA condenados en Italia por secuestrar, torturar y luego ‘desaparecer’ al clérigo musulmán Abu Omar en la ciudad italiana de Milán en el 2003 era un elemento clave de la red que desde Honduras y El Salvador, con John Negroponte, Félix Rodríguez Mendigutía y Luis Posada Carriles traficó armas contra cocaina a favor de la Contra nicaraguense, cuando se encontraba en América Central en los ańos 80."

Honduras: el proveedor de gases israelíes, un viejo socio de la conexión Bush-Posada  9/26/2009 Cuba Debate: "Yehuda Leitner radicado en Honduras, denunciado como proveedor de armas y gases tóxicos a la dictadura hondureńa de Roberto Micheletti, es un ex oficial del ejercito israelí quién perteneció en los ańos 80 a la red de contrabando del multimillonario Gerard Latchinian, que abastecía en armas a los cubanoamericanos Felix Rodriguez y Luis Posada Carriles en sus operaciones luego conocidas cómo escandalo Iran-Contra. Rodriguez y Posada manejaban entonces la escandalosa operación de venta de droga contra armas, encubierta por Bush George padre, vicepresidente de la administración ultraderechista de Ronald Reagan. La Canciller del gobierno constitucional de Honduras Patricia Rodas, denunció este viernes 25 de septiembre en Wastington como “fuentes de la inteligencia militar leales a Zelaya” informaron que “los químicos y armas del asedio (de Brasil en Tegucigalpa) han sido proporcionadas por las empresas Alfacom e Intercom”, propiedad del ciudadano israelí Yehuda Leitner, que “sirvió de intermediario con Israel”."

Durante los atentados de La Habana, Posada recibió protección de Embajada USA  8/7/2009 Granma: "Mientras dirigía desde El Salvador los atentados de La Habana, el terrorista internacional Luis Posada Carriles realizó un viaje a Europa y Africa, en una operación de tráfico de armas. Estuvo entonces asilado en la Embajada de Estados Unidos en la República de Sierra Leona, con pasaporte salvadoreńo falso, durante el golpe de estado que lo sorprendió en ese país, el 25 de mayo de 1997."

Aseguran que brazo derecho de Posada se refugió en Honduras  7/31/2009 Aporrea: "A finales de septiembre del 2005, Chávez y 21 miembros de su banda fueron arrestados bajo cargos de robo de automóviles y estafa. Las autoridades aseguraron entonces que se trataba de "una de las principales estructuras del crimen organizado dedicadas al robo y hurto de vehículos a nivel nacional y centroamericano". Según la prensa salvadoreńa, la investigación reveló que el brazo derecho de Posada había desarrollado “conexiones” con empleados de aduanas, agencias de trámites de documentos de tránsito e instituciones públicas y privadas. La operación realizada por la policía salvadoreńa, denominada Tormenta, incluía una serie de allanamientos en San Salvador, Soyapango, Ciudad Delgado, Santa Tecla y hasta… Ilopango, el refugio de Posada durante ańos."

Ricardo Maduro, “héroe” de la ultra derecha, y protector de Posada Carriles  7/28/2009 CubaDebate: "Ricardo Maduro, el ex presidente de Honduras que participó en el criminal golpe de Estado contra el presidente constitucional, Manuel Zelaya, y que acaba de ser acogido en Washington por los congresistas de la ultra derecha cubanoamericana, fue quien presidía el país centroamericano cuando Luis Posada Carriles se refugió ahí en el 2004 para quedarse durante más de seis meses, con la tolerancia evidente de su gobierno. Maduro está realizando una gira en Estados Unidos, adonde lo invitaron los miembros de la pandilla cubanoamericana del Congreso. El ex candidato presidencial John McCain, viejo socio de la mafia miamense, y la representante republicana, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen le organizaron una reunión en el Capitolio con una decena de sus colegas."

Presidente Chávez: Inteligencia estadounidense y Luis Posada Carriles planearon magnicidio con cohetes en San Salvador  6/2/2009 Aporrea: “Y este atentado que se estaba preparando (…) fue por la gente de Posada Carriles. Le exijo al presidente Obama que cumpla con la ley. Mándenos a Posada; debe estar en prisión”, pidió a su par de Estados Unidos, Barack Obama. También especificó que los servicios de inteligencia de EE UU están “detrás de todo esto, no estoy acusando a Obama. Más allá de Obama hay un imperio, eso está vivito, sus tentáculos, sus asesinos y sus paramilitares”.

Posada Carriles, Orlando Bosch and the Downing of Cubana Flight 455 - A Glimpse into the Mind of a Terrorist  5/2/2009 Counterpunch: published 4/06

Bush wants to impose Posada Carriles on Honduras  8/29/2008 Granma: [History of the Bin Laden of the Americas]

Sudden order for Posada to stand trial  8/15/2008 Granma: "BARELY three days after the vice president of Panama confirmed that his country is to apply for the extradition of Luis Posada Carriles, the Court of Appeals in New Orleans, which has broken records in its slowness in considering the case, has suddenly ordered that the terrorist be tried in El Paso on charges of immigration fraud."

Posada may face extradition to Panama  7/2/2008 Sun Sentinel

Posada, the Exiles and the CIA Failed - Cuba Will Live  5/19/2008 Counterpunch

Luis Posada Carriles, a terror suspect abroad, enjoys a 'coming-out' in Miami  5/7/2008 LA Times: "No, the man being honored by 500 fellow Cuban Americans at a sold-out gala was Luis Posada Carriles, the former CIA operative wanted in Venezuela on terrorism charges and under a deportation order for illegally entering the United States three years ago. Posada, 80, has mostly kept a low profile since his release from a Texas prison a year ago and a federal judge's dismissal of the only U.S. charges against him -- making false statements to immigration officials. But recent events like the Friday dinner and an exhibition and sale of his paintings last fall show that the man who spent his life trying to topple the communist government of Fidel Castro has returned to the social forefront of this city's exile community."

Serious legal questions loom for Posada  2/25/2008 Miami Herald: "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 long 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."

Miami: terrorists provoke aggression against pacifists demanding Posada’s arrest  1/14/2008 Granma

Bamby C4, New Film about International Terrorist Luis Posada Carriles  12/28/2007 Cuba Now: "A new film exposing some of the criminal actions, the personality and life of international terrorist Luis Posada Carriles is in its final production stage in Cuba. Bamby C-4 is the title of the movie, which was shot in Cuban and Venezuelan localities. It reveals aspects of the youth and old age of the renowned criminal, author of among other violent actions of the 1976 bombing in mid air of a Cubana airliner, off the coast of Barbados and which claimed 73 innocent lives."

Nicolás Maduro: Detrás del caso de Antonini Wilson está el poder que protege a Posada Carriles en EEUU  12/14/2007 Aporrea

‘Posada knows too much’ - Fabían Escalante, former chief of Cuban intelligence, speaks  7/19/2007 Progresso Weekly: ""Then [Posada] disappeared in El Salvador, showed up in Yucatán and entered the United States at the direction of his bosses. Posada would have never done that without express orders. His handlers told him: 'Come here and we'll do the same with you that we did with Orlando Bosch.' "But they hadn't counted on the actions of supportive people, of independent journalism. Then came the denunciations and the evidence. The pressure from Cuba has been very decisive, so decisive that [the people in Washington] probably wouldn't have done what they had to do. Consider the Cuban denunciations, the combative marches, the round tables, the open forums, the international solidarity; all these are pressure mechanisms that have forced the U.S. to do, which is to try him as an illegal immigrant." "

The secrets that Posada Carriles knows will come to light sooner or later  5/11/2007 Granma: "In fact, Judge Cardone, in her May 8 ruling, said that "the realm of this case is not, as some have suggested, terrorism. It is immigration fraud. Terrorism, and the determination of whether or not to classify an individual as a terrorist, lies within the sound discretion of the executive branch," adding that she was not disposed to provide a solution for what she called a "hot potato" for the U.S. government."

Fighting Terror Selectively: Washington and Posada  5/10/2007 Global Research: "There had been intense pressure to try Posada for his terrorist crimes, as required by Security Council resolution 1373 and three international treaties. Resolution 1373, passed in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, mandates that all countries deny safe haven to those who commit terrorist acts, and ensure that they are brought to justice. These provisions of resolution 1373 are mandatory, as they were adopted under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. The treaties require the United States to extradite Posada to Venezuela for trial or try him in U.S. courts for offenses committed abroad. The Department of Justice elected instead to charge him with perjury for lying about how he entered the United States in 2005. But the government could not take the risk that Posada might sing like a canary. On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Kathleen Cardone dismissed all charges against Posada. In her ruling, Cardone wrote that "the Government engaged in fraud, deceit, and trickery" by using a "routine" immigration interview to investigate possible criminal charges against Posada. But questions about Posada's prior criminal conduct were relevant to the moral character determination at the immigration interview. Posada is not a "routine" guy and his lawyer was present throughout the interview to protect him against self-incrimination. Cardone found the government's tactics "grossly shocking and so outrageous as to violate the universal sense of justice." She then disingenuously claimed, "This Court's concern is not politics; it is the preservation of justice." It is shocking and outrageous that Luis Posada Carriles, whose crimes rival those of al Qaeda, is now walking free in Miami . And Cardone's decision is deeply political. Rep. William Delahunt has called for a congressional hearing to examine the U.S. government's role in promoting impunity in the Posada case. Delahunt sent a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales requesting an explanation as to why the Justice Department did not invoke the USA Patriot Act to declare Posada a terrorist and detain him, stating, "The release of Mr. Posada puts into question our commitment to fight terrorism.""

FBI, Cuba cooperating on Posada  5/4/2007 Miami Herald: "Three federal law enforcement officers familiar with the case described the trip as ''pretty amazing'' and ''unheard of'' because Cuba had for years blocked FBI access to witnesses, crime scenes, forensic evidence and more information in the bombing. The Miami Herald agreed not to name the officers because of the ongoing grand jury investigation. The sources said the trip was very productive because agents were able to interview witnesses, review Cuba's forensic evidence -- including bombing materials -- and visit crime scenes, though they declined to say exactly what information was gathered."

Luis Posada Carriles has boasted of bombing Havana hotels, yet American justice lets him go free - A Terrorist Walks  4/23/2007 Venezuela Analysis

Judge rejects government bid to delay bond order for Posada  4/11/2007 AP: "Posada will be under house arrest in Miami and will have to wear a monitoring bracelet, Hernandez said. Posada will likely be released Thursday, but could be out as soon as Wednesday afternoon."

Cuban exiles differ on Posada  4/8/2007 Sun Sentinel

Posada: A Double Standard in the War on Terror  10/6/2006 Harper's: "On October 6, 1976 seventy-three people were killed when terrorists blew up Cubana Flight 455, which was on its way from Barbados to Cuba. Thirty years later, on September 11, 2006, Luis Posada Carriles, one of the men who allegedly carried out the attack, was sitting in a Texas prison when a federal judge in El Paso, Texas, ordered him released from detention. If a U.S. district court upholds the ruling, Posada could be on the street within a few weeks."

Posada Carriles, Orlando Bosch and the Downing of Cubana Flight 455 A Glimpse into the Mind of a Terrorist  4/11/2006 Counterpunch: "Orlando Bosch: If I tell you that I was involved, I will be inculpating myself . . . . and if I tell you that did not participate in that action, you would say that I am lying. I am therefore not going to answer one thing or the other."

Posada Carriles May Soon Hit the Streets  1/6/2006 NarcoNews: "It’s now clear why the United States refused to charge Posada Carriles with terrorism. Not until now do we see exactly why the government charged him only with the single and timid charge of entering the country without proper papers. Instead of pursuing justice, the United States government simply scolded the terrorist. According to an article published this Wednesday in the Miami Herald’s Spanish language newspaper, the Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement recently informed Posada’s lawyers that his “status as a detainee would be reviewed on the 24th of January.” This means that within a few weeks Posada Carriles, the man responsible for the blowing up of a passenger plane with 73 people on board in 1976, could soon be freed by the U.S. government under regulations that prohibit the indefinite detention of undocumented aliens whose deportation from the country cannot be carried out within a ninety-day period."

Indictment ties Posada ally to Broward arms stash  12/3/2005 Miami Herald: "A task force of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms and FBI agents recovered nine firearms from the cooler transported from Alvarez's 280-unit Lauderhill apartment complex and from a gun safe in the storage facility. Among the seized firepower: one Maddi Company AK-47 machine gun; one M-14 machine gun; one RPB Industries M-11A-1 machine gun; two Colt AR-15 semiautomatic rifles; two Essential Arms Co. J-15 machines guns; one Heckler and Koch grenade launcher; and one silencer. ''In an attempt to evade detection by law enforcement, [Alvarez] would remove machine guns with obliterated serial numbers, a silencer without a serial number, and a [grenade launcher] from the storage facility . . . in order to transfer [the] items to Osvaldo Mitat,'' according to the indictment. During last month's bond hearing, Kainen told the federal magistrate: ``I would suggest, your honor, there is no evidence that these [weapons] were going to be used in the United States."

LUIS POSADA CARRILES CASE - Backer's arrest clouds case  11/29/2005 Miami Herald: "With his biggest benefactor, Santiago Alvarez, behind bars, Cuban exile militant Luis Posada Carriles' chances of walking out of federal custody before year's end have sustained a serious blow."

Detienen a Santiago Alvarez en Estados Unidos cómplice del terrorista Posada Carriles  11/23/2005 Red Voltaire

Agents target Posada ally  11/19/2005 Miami Herald: "Federal authorities searched the Hialeah office of Cuban exile militant Luis Posada Carriles' biggest benefactor Friday, the same day that a Cuban group ran a full-page advertisement in The New York Times denouncing Posada."

Celerino Castillo on Luis Posada Carriles  11/11/2005 From the Wilderness: published 5/17/05, by Celerino "Cele" Castillo, 3rd, the ex-DEA Agent who exposed Felix Rodriguez, the man who killed Che, as a major narcoterrorist.

Venezuelans tortured by Posada Carriles present their cases  10/3/2005 Granma: "Venezuelans tortured by terrorist of Cuban origin are today preparing the files of their cases and those of disappeared comrades in order to support the demand for the criminal’s extradition. Jesús Marrero, coordinator of the group of victims affected by Posada during the years in which he had a high position in the Venezuelan political police (DISIP), explained to Prensa Latina that the initiative is an attempt to bring about justice. Marrero, who was tortured at the orders of Posada, considers the decision of the U.S. judge not to hand the criminal over to Venezuelan authorities under the pretext that he may be tortured, an insult to Posada’s victims."

El Salvador Arrests Criminal with Ties to Posada Carriles  9/30/2005 Prensa Latina

Venezuela’s Ambassador: “Posada Carriles is the Osama Bin Laden of Latin America”  9/30/2005 Venezuela Analysis: “The United States presents itself as a leader against terrorism, invades countries, restricts the civil rights of Americans in order to fight terrorism, but when it is about its own terrorists, it denies that they be tried,” said Alvarez.

Judge prevents deportation of Cuban militant Luis Posada Carriles  9/28/2005 Sun Sentinel

U.S. Government Charade Will Result in Denial of Posada Extradition  9/26/2005 NarcoNews: "The real struggle in the case seems to be over Posada’s potential release from prison. Garrett-Jackson wanted as much evidence as possible of Posada’s past deeds in the record in order to apparently establish him as a threat to the national security of the United States and as a terrorist. But since Archambeault waived the issue with respect to withholding, the judge may require that the U.S. Government’s evidence be ignored. In that case, the way may be clear for Posada’s release. Without a finding that Posada is a terrorist or a threat to national security, it will make it much easier for him to win his freedom."

US Lawyer Accused Luis Posada Carriles at Miami Rally  9/21/2005 AIN: "The lawyer said that most of the so-called Miami exiles prefer to protect Posada instead of condemn him for his actions."

Lawyer: Posada faces torture in Venezuela  8/31/2005 UPI: extraordinary rendition!

Luis Posada Carriles Denied Bond  7/26/2005 NarcoNews: "But as the hearing wound down, the judge dropped a bombshell in the courtroom. He informed both the attorneys for Posada and for the U.S. Government that he would issue a pretrial order in late July or early August requiring counsel to brief the court as to whether or not Posada’s actions in support of the Bay of Pigs invasion could be construed as terrorist actions under U.S. statutes governing detention and deportability of aliens. Abbot then pointedly noted that he looked especially forward to the government’s brief on that matter. The court was silent. An immigration judge had just ordered a brief as to whether or not an action 43 years ago supported and funded by the U.S. government in accordance with policy taken at the highest levels, including presidential decisions, could be construed as a terrorist act under current U.S. law. As Javier Montańo, Posada’s second-chair counsel, translated the judge’s statement to Posada, a hint of a smile came over the old man’s face."

Posada Carriles deportation case turns into Bay of Pigs sparnfarkel  7/25/2005 NarcoNews: "Of even greater interest, however, is the fact that the Associated Press reports that the federal immigration judge hearing Posada’s case “asked lawyers involved in the deportation case … to provide briefs on whether the Bay of Pigs invasion could be considered an act of terrorism.” That’s right, U.S. prosecutors and Posada’s attorneys will now have to duke it out over whether the U.S. government engaged in an act of terrorism against the Cuban government in the early 1960s. And the irony is that it will be to the benefit of U.S. prosecutors to argue that it was terrorism, since it would seem to bolster the government’s case against granting Posada asylum."

The Posada case is the strongest evidence of the five Cubans’ innocence  7/21/2005 Granma

Where is Luis Posada?  7/19/2005 NarcoNews: "Bush senior was also Vice President of the United States when Posada “escaped” from a Venezuelan prison while being tried for the Cubana bombing. Posada resurfaced soon after his 1985 escape from Venezuela, as Ramon Medina, a chief player in the Iran-Contra affair,a grotesquerie hatched by the CIA and the Reagan-Bush Administration that helped fund itself by facilitating drug sales in the United States. In 1986, Bush family friend and lapdog, Elliot Abrams, lied stone-faced to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence about U.S. involvement in the "contra" affair, making sure to protect Bush senior: "Mr. Stokes asked whether denial of U.S. involvement included the Vice President. Mr. Abram’s said Mr. Gregg of the Vice President’s staff had introduced Mr. [Felix] Rodriguez to Salvadoran Air Force officials in 1984 to serve as an adviser on air/ground operations. Mr. Rodriguez’ actions since that time were on his own." Abrams has resurfaced as a chief adviser in the Bush junior administration. And Bush senior, as President, released Posada’s comrade-in-arms, Orlando Bosch, from federal detention in 1990. Now with the weight of all this history on him, and no doubt tremendous familial pressure, Bush junior must decide what to do with a 77-year-old terrorist who is really the living embodiment of a failed United States policy of decades past. The federal government transported Posada to El Paso, Texas, where he is to have a bond hearing on July 25. We are unable to go into any further detail, but credible information has it that Posada is no longer in El Paso. Additionally, two separate calls to the detention facility supposedly holding Posada yielded differing information concerning his upcoming bond hearing. During a call this morning, employees said that the bond hearing set for the 25th will be accomplished electronically, with neither Posada nor his attorney to be present. Later in the day, however, a second call to the detention center yielded the information that Posada was “most definitely” at that facility and that he would be present for the bond hearing next Monday. Bill Conroy, well known to regular readers of Narco News and the Narcosphere, said that he checked with sources on the inside and could not confirm that Posada had been moved. But one of his sources said that “it would not be a big surprise if Posada were moved. They could move him on a whim, claiming he was under threat or for some national security pretense. [The government] want[s] to control [Posada] as much as [it] can without killing him.” "

Hypocrisy Rules in Posada Case  6/25/2005 NarcoNews

Posada Carriles may well choke on Bush's pickle  6/24/2005 NarcoNews: "Source 1: A former high-ranking DEA official “If he was a CIA operative, and he was, I don’t think the CIA wanted him in custody,” the source says. “But he had the audacity to grant an interview with the Miami Herald, and he was arrested the day after that interview. … He did a stupid thing and rubbed it in the government’s face by coming into the U.S. illegally and then having the balls to grant an interview to the press in the middle of Miami.” The source adds that if the immigration judge in El Paso was really under political pressure to grant Posada Carriles asylum, then he would have granted his motion to have the case moved to Miami, “but he didn’t.” “They’re going to keep him in custody where the government can keep an eye on him,” the former DEA official says. “How many Cubans are incarcerated already (in the United States)? They can hold him indefinitely, until he dies, maybe due to bad prison food.” "

How Authentic Journalists Caught an International Terrorist in Mexicon - The Daily Por Esto! Found Posada Carriles on Isla Mujeres but George W. Bush Is Trying to Set Him Free in Miami  6/21/2005 NarcoNews

Luis Posada Carriles  6/20/2005 Latin American Studies: clearing house on this topic

US Congress members support Posada Carriles’ extradition  6/17/2005 Granma

The CIA and the Bombing of Cubana Flight 455 - Why Bush Wants to Harbor Posada Carriles  6/16/2005 Counterpunch

Posada sought to stand trial  6/16/2005 Miami Herald: "Venezuela presented a new challenge to the Bush administration on the Posada Carriles case by formally submitting an extradition request."

Posada Carriles: The double acquittal myth  6/16/2005 Progreso Weekly: "On the eve of the pronouncement of his sentence on August 8, 1985, he fled from the San Juan de los Morros penitentiary, located in the State of Guárico, where he had been confined after two previous failed escape attempts. No verdict was entered against Posada Carriles because according to the Venezuelan Penal Code judicial proceedings cannot continue without the presence of the accused. The court issued an arrest warrant against him."

The New CIA Revelations About Posada Extradition US-Style By RICARDO ALARCÓN  6/14/2005 Counterpunch

Posada renews asylum bid at a hearing held in Texas  6/14/2005 Miami Herald: "Cuban militant Luis Posada Carriles refiled a formal request for political asylum, and a judge said he is considering moving him to a facility closer to Miami." [Judging by previous proceedings against anti-Castro paramilitaries, this is a sure sign in Posada's favor.]

The Asshole in El Paso - Posada Carriles: Why He Matters  6/9/2005 Counterpunch

The Charmed Life of a Mass Murderer - Posada Carriles and Bush's Anti-Terror Hoax  6/9/2005 Counterpunch

The Posada File: Part II  6/9/2005 National Security Archives: Posada Boasted of Plans to "Hit" Cuban Plane, CIA Document States - Served as Instructor, Informant for Agency for more than a Decade - Other Documents Highlight Creation of Exile Terrorist Umbrella Group; Subsequent Acts of Terrorism and Violence attributed to Orlando Bosch

Posada Carriles nunca fue absuelto en Venezuela  6/6/2005 La Jornada, Mexico: exposes US government lies about Posada's legal history in Venezuela, where he was actually never found innocent of the airplane bombing.

Chávez threatens ties with U.S. over Posada  5/23/2005 Miami Herald: "Venezuela's president said he'll reconsider diplomatic ties with the United States if Cuban exile Luis Posada Carriles is not extradited."

Send Posada Carriles to Venezuela - Beating Around the Bush  5/22/2005 Counterpunch: "There's no valid reason why Posada should not be extradited to Venezuela now. There's no necessity to wait while lawyers mess around with Homeland's insignificant illegal entry claim or any asylum claim. The case should be promptly submitted to the extradition judge. It seems like the Administration is using these immigration cases, with Posada's cooperation, to try to delay decision on the extradition request in hope of avoiding evidence of CIA's involvement in the bombing from becoming public in a Venezuelan proceeding. Part of its plan seems to be to make reporters and the public think the US can't extradite until the immigration proceedings are ended and they have some policy preventing extradition. Neither of which is so."

The crimes of Bosch and Posada - Washington knew beforehand of the plot to sabotage the Cubana airliner  5/20/2005 Granma

Former rebel: Posada ordered torture  5/20/2005 Miami Herald: "A former Venezuelan leftist guerrilla fighter has accused Cuban exile militant Luis Posada Carriles of ordering his torture."

Posada charged with illegal entry  5/20/2005 Miami Herald: "Immigration authorities have charged Cuban exile militant Luis Posada Carriles with entering the United States illegally and have ordered that he be held without bond."

Exiles reluctant to publicly back militant Posada  5/19/2005 Miami Herald: "Eager to avoid the blistering that Miami's Cuban community took in 2000 as a result of the Elián case, exile leaders are preaching restraint when it comes to Posada, 77, a militant accused in the 1976 bombing of a Cuban jetliner and other acts of terrorism. A group that had sponsored street demonstrations in 2000 was asked to back off, for example, and Spanish-language radio stations on Wednesday appeared intent on building interest in Friday's scheduled assembly of civil societies in Cuba -- rather than fueling outrage over Posada's fate."

Assata and Posada: Two different colors, two different stories  5/18/2005 SF Bay View: "The generally unacknowledged factor of Posada and Bosch’s blowing up of the Cubana airliner, however, is this. If tourists to Cuba take the time to visit Havana’s Sport’s Palace, guides will inevitably take them to the memorial wall. From there, visitors will be greeted by row after row of young, mostly Black faces staring back at them – photographs of Cuba’s Olympic athletes who were returning from the Pan American Games in Venezuela and were on board the airliner Posada and Bosch likely bombed. Therefore, by putting a $1 million bounty on Sister Shakur, who, they say, is linked to the killing of one white person, while allowing Posada and Bosch remain free in the U.S. after killing at least 73 mostly Black people, the U.S. has once again exposed itself as a government that continues to capitulate to and accommodate itself to racism."

What the CIA Could Learn from Venezuela: The Luis Posada Carriles Case  5/13/2005 Venezuela Analysis: "Luis Posada Carriles is a fugitive from justice in Venezuela and an international terrorist, so defined by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), and therefore cannot be granted political asylum under U.S. law."

Bush, Posada & Terrorism Hypocrisy  5/10/2005 Consortium News: "The New York Times has finally put the case of fugitive terrorist Luis Posada Carriles on Page One, observing that the violent anti-Castro Cuban’s presence in Florida “could test” George W. Bush’s universal condemnation of terrorism. But that principle already appears to have been tested and failed. Without doubt, Posada – who reportedly has been hiding in South Florida for six weeks – is getting the benefit of a conscious U.S. policy of benign neglect, a Bush version of the “I know nothing” approach made popular by Sgt. Schultz, the German prison guard in the TV comedy “Hogan’s Heroes.” If Posada were a suspected Islamic terrorist – not a CIA-trained right-wing Cuban exile – there’s no question that the Bush administration would be showing zero tolerance for his presence inside the United States. Certainly, the U.S. government wouldn’t be waiting around patiently for the terrorist to check in with immigration authorities."

LUIS POSADA CARRILES - THE DECLASSIFIED RECORD  5/10/2005 National Security Archives: "The National Security Archive today posted additional documents that show that the CIA had concrete advance intelligence, as early as June 1976, on plans by Cuban exile terrorist groups to bomb a Cubana airliner. The Archive also posted another document that shows that the FBI's attache in Caracas had multiple contacts with one of the Venezuelans who placed the bomb on the plane, and provided him with a visa to the U.S. five days before the bombing, despite suspicions that he was engaged in terrorist activities at the direction of Luis Posada Carriles. Both documents were featured last night on ABC Nightline's program on Luis Posada Carriles, who was detained in Miami yesterday by Homeland Security. In addition, the Archive posted the first report to Secretary of State Kissinger from the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research on the bombing of Cubana flight 455. The report noted that a CIA source had overheard Posada prior to the bombing in late September 1976 stating that, "We are going to hit a Cuban airliner." "

Terrorist Cuban Exile Luis Posada Carriles Seeking Political Asylum in U.S.  5/9/2005 Democracy Now: "ANN LOUISE BARDACH: I think I saw the June 1976 document about him being in Santa Domingo, from memory, back in 1998. Actually it ties -- the one I think I recall that we got at The New York Times back then had to do with the Cubana shoot-down, where there was that big meeting in Santa Domingo, the DR, and that that was discussed. I'm not sure it’s a new document. I think it has been declassified for some time. But yes, I am aware of what they're referring to. I can only say that the information -- Posada denied blowing up the airliner, but I have never found an intelligence official whether in the F.B.I., the C.I.A., certainly the Cuban intelligence, Venezuelan intelligence, who did not believe that Posada and Bosch were involved. They're basically two guys who worked for their detective agency after he sort of got in trouble with the Venezuelan government, he started a private eye detective agency, and the two guys who planted the bombs on the plane, who were Venezuelan, worked for Posada and Bosch. And I have never – and I even did an interview, which is cited in my book, with the former head of Latin American intelligence for us, and he just said to me, he said, look, there were no other suspects. But Posada and his lawyers will properly point out that eventually over time, over ten years, he won an acquittal here, an acquittal there. Venezuelan justice is very peculiar. Same thing with Orlando Bosch. I mean, there are people who will tell you that you can get an acquittal in Caracas back then, you know, for around $45. I'm not exactly sure, but Venezuelan justice is very peculiar, labyrinthan, and it was very susceptible to what is called mordidas, and there was a tremendous crusade in Miami to free these guys. But again, he and his lawyers say they did not do it. I have never heard anyone else in the intelligence world who did not think, au contraire, that he did do it. What is interesting in the memos I saw back in 1998 was, I remember one where he's informing and sending tips to the C.I.A. throughout 1976, and I just remember one where he said that Orlando Bosch may be involved in blowing up a civilian airliner, I think he identified the country, leaving from Panama."

Posada has something on Bush, says expert on Kennedy case  4/29/2005 Granma: "Dankbaar, also a Dutch businessman, who has made a documentary on the assassination of Kennedy titled Second Look, has shown how one of the three individuals arrested by Dallas police shortly after the crime placed Luis Posada Carriles in Dealey Square in that same city at the moment of the assassination."

Hijo de cubano asesinado por Posada Carriles exige justicia  4/22/2005 Jiribilla

An Exclusive CounterPunch Interview with Ricardo Alarcon About One of the World's Most Wanted Terrorists - "Is Posada Still Working for the White House?"  4/19/2005 Counterpunch: "The explosion took place probably more rapidly than they had expected because they eared and saw the explosion when they were in the taxi going from the airport to town. That perhaps has provoked their extremely instable attitude. They were very, very nervous. That is what the driver reported. And at some moment they asked the driver not to go to the hotel but to go to the American Embassy and, at a particular moment, something struck the mind of the driver. He listened when one of the individuals signalled a building, when approaching downtown Bridgetown, and referred to the American Embassy. In Bridgetown, at this moment, there were very few embassies. The US and very few countries had a representation there. We didn't at the time. This was noted by the driver because it is rather strange that somebody who is entering the country should know this, unless he had been there before. Then they went to the Embassy, according to this driver."

El Departamento de Estado instruyó a los medios de prensa para que difundieran que la presencia de Posada Carriles en Estados Unidos era una operación de la inteligencia cubana  4/15/2005 Tricontinental

Cuba pide a EU entregar a Luis Posada Carriles  4/12/2005 La Jornada, Mexico

Moscoso obtained $4 million for pardoning Posada and his accomplices  4/7/2005 Granma: "The pardon of international terrorists Luis Posada Carriles, Pedro Crispín Remon Hernández, Gaspar Jimenez Escobedo and Guillermo Novo Sampol was negotiated in Miami by Ruby Moscoso, sister of the then Panamanian President Mireya Moscoso, for the sum of $4 million, according to documents published on the internet."

Posada Carriles: a Hot Potato  3/31/2005 Radio Miami: "The news arrived to the media just a few hours ago, but the rumor has been going around Miami for a few days. Luis Posada Carriles, the most infamous terrorist of Cuban origin is already in the U.S., and he is ready to request political asylum over there. He had remained clandestinely in Central America, possibly Honduras and El Salvador, after having been pardoned in Panama by the then Panamanian President Mireya Moscoso, who released him from prison. He was serving a sentence for terrorist acts in that country."

A Cuban Perspective on Gary Webb - The Journalist Who Exposed the Crimes of Luis Posada Carriles  1/5/2005 Counterpunch

Posada Carriles said to be in Honduras  8/31/2004 Granma

Panamanian justice rules that Posada and his accomplices should stand trial  9/8/2003 Granma

Posada and his accomplices, active collaborators of Pinochet’s fascist police  3/26/2003 Granma: "DINA’s objective was to physically eliminate opposition both inside and outside the country. This was how Luis Posada Carriles, Guillermo Novo Sampoll and Gaspar Jiménez Escobedo – all of them founders of the Coordination of United Revolutionary Organizations (CORU), along with pediatrician and killer Orlando Bosch – actively participated in a significant number of support tasks for Pinochet’s junta, as advisors or providers of mercenaries, explosive materials and logistical support. A declassified FBI report, dated April 29 1986, confirms a meeting between exiled Cubans and Pinochet on March 17, 1975. Pinochet offered them financial assistance on the condition that they unified the various counterrevolutionary groups. He also promised to mediate in their favor before heads of state in Paraguay and Uruguay, both countries living under cruel dictatorships."

Posada reaffirms his determination to continue with his terrorist acts  3/7/2003 Granma: "Posada recently reiterated his intentions in an interview with Miami’s Canal 23, in which he defended terror with impunity, which comes as no surprise to anybody in the city where the FBI protects terrorists and arrests those who infiltrate terrorists’ ranks to put a stop to their criminal plans."

Posada conspires in prison  12/19/2002 Granma: "During a visit to El Renacer prison to record a television report on a cultural event for Mothers Day (a December festivity in Panama), a Panamanian TVN television camera team was witness to an unexpected meeting between Luis Posada Carriles, the hemisphere’s most dangerous terrorist, and known Miami terrorist Ignacio Castro Matos."

The lost illusions of Posada and his accomplices  12/10/2002 Granma: "Traumatized. There aren’t many other words to describe Posada Carriles and his three henchmen on leaving the court on Thursday, December 5 after discovering the extent of the deceit practiced on them over the months by their defense attorney drugs lawyer Rogelio Cruz… Cruz, a former state attorney and millionaire who lost his position some years ago due to his links with Colombian drug cartels and a series of financial maneuvers that could have sent him to jail, is confronting a team of top-level lawyers in this country, doctors and university professors who are exercising their skills on behalf of various popular groups. And without charge, out of solidarity with trade union, student and indigenous organizations and the Cuban Revolution."

The lost illusions of Posada and his accomplices  12/10/2002 Granma: "Traumatized. There aren’t many other words to describe Posada Carriles and his three henchmen on leaving the court on Thursday, December 5 after discovering the extent of the deceit practiced on them over the months by their defense attorney drugs lawyer Rogelio Cruz… Cruz, a former state attorney and millionaire who lost his position some years ago due to his links with Colombian drug cartels and a series of financial maneuvers that could have sent him to jail, is confronting a team of top-level lawyers in this country, doctors and university professors who are exercising their skills on behalf of various popular groups. And without charge, out of solidarity with trade union, student and indigenous organizations and the Cuban Revolution."

Behind Posada: Drug Trafficking  12/4/2002 Granma: Coca Contra, again - "Panamanian sources confirm links between José Valladares Acosta, accomplice of terrorist gang leader Luis Posada Carriles and Orestes Cosío, recently deported from the United States for drug trafficking and involvement in three murders • The extremely dangerous terrorist has always maintained links with drug trafficking circles in Miami - the U.S. drugs capital."

Behind Posada: Drug Trafficking  12/4/2002 Granma: Coca Contra, again - "Panamanian sources confirm links between José Valladares Acosta, accomplice of terrorist gang leader Luis Posada Carriles and Orestes Cosío, recently deported from the United States for drug trafficking and involvement in three murders • The extremely dangerous terrorist has always maintained links with drug trafficking circles in Miami - the U.S. drugs capital."

Posada in El Renacer, 60 meters from the Panama Canal  8/7/2002 Granma: "For many observers, Posada Carriles’ arrival at El Renacer Rehabilitation Center and reunion with the rest of his terrorist gang, looks like another attempt to illegally spirit him out of the country. The move adds to the Panamanian authorities’ unjustifiable rejection of an extradition request by the Cuban government, a lack of response to the Venezuelan government’s extradition request, the many legal irregularities and constant visits to Panama by big-time Miami mafia members."

Cuban warns of Posada Carriles’ possible escape  6/24/2002 Granma: Posada was Felix Rodriguez #2 at Ilo Pango air force base in El Salvador, the source of much Coca Contra trafficking in the 80's. Felix is a long time CIA employee close to George Bush senior and the CIA rep in on the Che take down.

Nota del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores: Luis Posada Carriles  6/23/2002 AIN, Cuba: narcoterrorist Posada about to flee - "El Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores ha conocido que en días pasados, el seńor Rogelio Cruz, abogado defensor del connotado terrorista Luis Posada Carriles, anunció que su defendido ha sido trasladado a una clínica privada en Panamá alegando su deteriorado estado de salud."

REICH-POSADA-BOSCH - The Axis of Deceit  4/5/2002 Granma

Posada and his Gang in Panama-12 Mar 2002  3/12/2002 Radio Havana

El Salvador pedirá la extradición de Posada Carriles  3/9/2002 El Nuevo Herald: The Cubans say this is to free the narcoterrorist, as he has many friends in El Salvador.

POSADA CARRILES - Four bloody decades  2/28/2002 Granma: "...a professor at Tufts University, also an investigative reporter, who exposed himself to the worst reprisals by revealing previously unpublished information about the "private lives" of the CIA and the Miami mafia. In two alternative Internet publications, Professor Jerry Meldon released a "biography" of the best known Cuban exile drug traffickers, especially the central figure: arch-terrorist Luis Posada Carriles. Basing himself on a series of declassified secret documents, Meldon bravely describes Posada Carriles’ relationship with the late Jorge Mas Canosa, founder and leader of the Cuban American National Foundation (CANF) and frequent guest at the White House under Reagan, Bush Sr. and Clinton."

POSADA CARRILES - Four bloody decades  2/28/2002 Granma: "...a professor at Tufts University, also an investigative reporter, who exposed himself to the worst reprisals by revealing previously unpublished information about the "private lives" of the CIA and the Miami mafia. In two alternative Internet publications, Professor Jerry Meldon released a "biography" of the best known Cuban exile drug traffickers, especially the central figure: arch-terrorist Luis Posada Carriles. Basing himself on a series of declassified secret documents, Meldon bravely describes Posada Carriles’ relationship with the late Jorge Mas Canosa, founder and leader of the Cuban American National Foundation (CANF) and frequent guest at the White House under Reagan, Bush Sr. and Clinton."

PANAMA PAVES THE WAY FOR RELEASE OF TERRORIST LUIS POSADA CARRILES  2/22/2002 Radio Havana: the endless power of the Miami narcoterrorists - "The government of Panama appears to be preparing the way for the release of international terrorist Luis Posada Carriles and three of his accomplices. During the nightly roundtable discussion -- broadcast live on Cuban radio and television Thursday evening -- it was revealed that the four terrorists will face reduced charges and could be released awaiting trial."

Destacan en Cuba decisión venezolana de tramitar extradición Posada Carriles  12/26/2001 AIN, Cuba: Posada, narcotraficante extraordinario, apoyado por Miami

Venezuela initiates extradition procedures for terrorist Posada Carriles  12/26/2001 Granma: ""Luis Posada Carriles fled the San Carlos Garrison [in Venezuela] on September 8, 1982, where he was being held. On that occasion he was captured and brought before the courts once again, but he managed to escape [again] on August 18, 1985," Dávila said." Word is he was aided by Jorge Menos Canosa, mas o menos.

Denuncia Cuba estratagemas para no enjuiciar a Posada Carriles  11/22/2001 Agencia Cubana de Noticias: Details the stratagems of the Miami Mafia, including the CANF, to get Luis Posada Carilles, one of the most horrendous terrorists in the Americas, off the hook from having attempted the assassination of Fidel and 2,000 Panamanians with a large bomb.

THE RETURN OF THE CONDOR  1/5/2001 Prensa Latina: "Cuban-American terrorist Luis Posada Carriles' recent detention in Panama, for leading a commando group that brought explosive devices into that country to attempt to assassinate Cuban President Fidel Castro during the 10th Ibero-American Summit is daily acquiring greater importance. In the many recent trials against dictatorships of the South, these same people appear to be accomplices in the so-called Operation Condor."

New York Times interview with terrorist Luís Posada Carriles  7/12/1998 Free the Five: "Over the years, Posada estimated, Mas sent him more than $200,000. "He never said, 'This is from the foundation,' " Posada recalled. Rather, he said with a chuckle, the money arrived with the message, "This is for the church."

Solidarity Group In Panama Denounces Escape Plans of Posada and His Gang, 8/2/01

Granma, 5/25/01

That mafia organization is led and financed by unconditional supporters of killers Orlando Bosch and Luis Posada Carriles • In order to improve their image, they are Americanizing their message, now that U.S. public opinion has discovered their true face.

NOW that it is politically liquidated, the Cuban American National Foundation (CANF) will have to invent a new name for its organization, since it is led and financed by people born in the United States and is intimately linked to terrorists such as Orlando Bosch and Luis Posada Carriles.

The case of Elián González has revealed to U.S. public opinion who are the figures who have controlled and supported the most reactionary and dirty-dealing sector of the Cuban exile community in the United States, having dared to challenge the U.S. government and inciting disdain for the patriotic symbols of the country that took them like spoiled children.

The Cuban press has commented that Joe García will be named CANF executive director. This man, as a journalist revealed in Havana, directed the Exodus program to take Cubans living in third countries to the United States.

Alberto Hernández, an accomplice of terrorists, will continue to be president of the CANF. This individual raised $200,000 USD to bribe judges in the trials of Orlando Bosch and Luis Posada Carriles.

The CANF hoped to establish an operations center on the Nicaragua-Honduras border to act against Cuban civilians, by attacking innocent people.

García, whom Cuban reporter Reynaldo Taladrid called a brother-to-the-death of Orlando Bosch, has been accused of sexual assault.

When the Exodus program became the center of a scandal, in which Joe García’s shady maneuvers related to the medical insurance of Cubans using his clinic in Miami came to light, he lost the Miami-Dade elections to candidate Miguel Díaz de la Portilla. The latter’s campaign was centered around attacks on Mas Canosa.

Joe García then moved on to Jeb Bush’s team, as part of a commission monitoring large corporations. Now that Al gore has lost ground in the campaign, according to recent surveys, the CANF is trying to get on the good side George Bush, who could very well be the next president, stating that it is going to Americanize its message.

The CANF has raised $3 million USD for elections. As Taladrid pointed out, this money is invested so that the organization can then achieve what it wants.

Luis Posada Carriles and the Cuban American National Foundation: Coca Contra lives on, 3/00

Links to sources on Posada

ALLEGATIONS OF CONNECTIONS BETWEEN CIA AND THE CONTRAS IN COCAINE TRAFFICKING
TO THE UNITED STATES (96-0143-IG): Volume II: The Contra Story
http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/cocaine2/contents.html
On the CIA site, the CIA's forthright answer to all these scurrilous allegations! Actually contains many damning admissions...

Extract from The Guardian on Posada at Ilopango air base

The Miami Herald on Posada's Cuba bomb campaign

Granma on Posada revelations in the New York Times, 7/17/98

Conmoción en Estados Unidos por
artículos del New York Times sobre
actividades terroristas contra Cuba

El periódico The New York Times publicó los pasados días 12 y 13 de julio extensos artículos basados en una entrevista realizada al terrorista de origen cubano Luis Posada Carriles, que han causado una gran conmoción en los medios de prensa y la opinión pública norteamericanas, así como reacciones en muchos otros países.

En sus declaraciones al diario norteamericano, Posada Carriles -cuya extensa hoja de servicios contra el pueblo cubano, además de su participación en sabotajes, planes de atentados y otras acciones similares en la guerra sucia contra Cuba, incluye la organización del sabotaje al avión de Cubana en Barbados en 1976 que costó la vida de 73 personas inocentes, entre ellas los adolescentes que integraban el equipo juvenil de
esgrima de nuestro país- reconoce explícitamente, con absoluto cinismo, su participación en estas acciones terroristas y el financiamiento y apoyo recibido de la Fundación Nacional Cubano Americana, y explica la
evidente apatía de las autoridades norteamericanas en investigar su actividad terrorista contra Cuba por el hecho de lo que llamó "su vieja relación con las agencias norteamericanas de inteligencia y los órganos
encargados de hacer cumplir la ley".

En el primero de los artículos, el diario seńala:

"Un exiliado cubano que ha llevado a cabo una campańa de estallidos de bombas e intentos de asesinato dirigidos contra Fidel Castro, dice que sus esfuerzos fueron respaldados financieramente durante más de un decenio por los líderes cubano-estadounidenses de uno de los grupos de cabildeo más influyentes de los Estados Unidos.

"El exiliado, Luis Posada Carriles, dijo haber organizado una ola de estallidos de bombas el ańo pasado en hoteles, restaurantes y discotecas de Cuba que ocasionaron la muerte de un turista italiano y la alarma del gobierno cubano. El seńor Posada fue entrenado por la Agencia Central de Inteligencia en demolición y guerra de guerrillas en el decenio de 1960.

"En una serie de entrevistas grabadas en un complejo amurallado del Caribe, Posada expresó que la colocación de bombas en los hoteles y otras operaciones habían sido apoyadas por líderes de la Fundación
Nacional Cubano Americana. Su fundador y jefe, Jorge Mas Canosa, quien murió el ańo pasado, fue acogido en la Casa Blanca por los Presidentes Reagan, Bush y Clinton."

Sigue diciendo el New York Times:

"Aunque la Fundación, que no paga impuestos, ha declarado que trata de derrocar al gobierno comunista de Cuba únicamente por medios pacíficos, Posada manifestó que los líderes de la Fundación discretamente financiaban sus operaciones. Mas Canosa supervisaba personalmente el flujo de dinero y el apoyo logístico, dijo.

"`Jorge lo controlaba todo', expresó Posada. `Cuando yo necesitaba dinero, yo decía: Dame 5 mil dólares, dame 10 mil, dame 15 mil, y ellos me los mandaban.'

"A través de los ańos, Posada calculó que Mas Canosa le había enviado más de 200 mil dólares. `El nunca dijo: Esto es de la Fundación', recordó Posada. Por el contrario, recordó con una risita sarcástica, el dinero llegaba con el mensaje: `Esto es para la iglesia.'"3

Según los autores de los artículos, "por primera vez, Posada describió también el papel que había desempeńado en algunos de los más importantes hechos de la Guerra Fría en los que los exiliados cubanos fueron participantes clave. Fue entrenado para la invasión por Playa Girón en un campamento en Guatemala, pero no llegó a desembarcar en las playas cubanas [...]. Fueron exiliados cubanos como Posada los reclutados por la CIA para los subsiguientes atentados contra la vida de Castro.

"Encarcelado por uno de los más vergonzosos ataques anticubanos -la colocación de una bomba en un avión civil de Cubana en 1976-, escapó más tarde de una cárcel venezolana para formar parte del eslabón
principal de la cruzada anticomunista de la Casa Blanca en el hemisferio occidental iniciada por Reagan: las actividades clandestinas del teniente coronel Oliver North para suministrar armas a los contras
nicaragüenses."

Seguidamente el diario comenta:

"Parte de lo que dijo sobre su pasado puede verificarse mediante documentos del gobierno recientemente desclasificados, así como mediante entrevistas con ex miembros de la Fundación y funcionarios de los Estados Unidos."

Una de las afirmaciones de Posada Carriles que el periódico resalta es la que se refiere al hecho de que "las autoridades estadounidenses encargadas de hacer cumplir la ley mantuvieron una actitud de benévolo abandono con relación a él durante la mayor parte de su carrera, permitiéndole que siguiera libre y en actividad".

El New York Times apunta: "La Fundación de los exiliados, creada en 1981, ha tratado de presentarse como la voz responsable de la comunidad de exiliados cubanos, dedicada a debilitar al régimen de Castro mediante la política y no la fuerza. Gracias a ese enfoque y a millones en donaciones para las campańas, la Fundación se convirtió en una de las organizaciones de cabildeo más efectivas de Washington y en el principal arquitecto de la política estadounidense hacia Cuba.

"Cualquier prueba de que la Fundación o sus líderes repartían dinero a los republicanos y los demócratas y al mismo tiempo apoyaban sabotajes con bombas, pudiera debilitar las afirmaciones de legalidad que hace el grupo."

Luego seńala el periódico: "Los comentarios de Posada sugieren que la promoción que la Fundación hace en público de que lleva a cabo una oposición estrictamente no violenta contra Castro, fue una ficción
cuidadosamente elaborada. [...]"

"En las entrevistas y en su autobiografía, titulada Los caminos del guerrero, Posada dijo que había recibido apoyo financiero de Mas Canosa y de Feliciano Foyo, tesorero del grupo, así como de Alberto Hernández, sucesor de Mas como presidente.

"[...] En su autobiografía, Posada dijo que los líderes de la Fundación ayudaron a pagar sus gastos médicos y de subsistencia y su traslado de Venezuela a América Central después de su fuga de la cárcel en 1985.

"En ocasiones, dijo Posada, el efectivo era entregado desde Miami por otros exiliados, incluido Gaspar Jiménez, que estuvo encarcelado en México en relación con el asesinato en 1976 de un diplomático cubano en ese país. Jiménez es ahora empleado de la clínica médica que el doctor Hernández tiene en Miami, según empleados de la oficina de la clínica.
A continuación los autores de los artículos recuerdan:

"Cuando las bombas comenzaron a estallar en los hoteles cubanos, el Gobierno de ese país aseguró que los ataques habían sido organizados y pagados por exiliados que operaban desde Miami, afirmación que
reforzaron con la grabación en video de un agente que confesó haber realizado algunas de esas acciones.

"Hace poco, informaciones aparecidas en el Miami Herald y la prensa estatal cubana vincularon la operación con Posada. Sin embargo, él declaró al New York Times que las autoridades estadounidenses no habían hecho ningún esfuerzo por interrogarlo sobre el caso. Atribuyó en parte la falta de acción a su vieja relación con las agencias norteamericanas de inteligencia y los órganos encargados de hacer cumplir la ley.

"`Como pueden ver', dijo, `el FBI y la CIA no me molestan, y yo soy neutral con ellos. Siempre que puedo ayudarlos, lo hago.'"

El periódico seńala que "Posada hizo declaraciones contradictorias respecto a sus contactos con las autoridades estadounidenses. Primero habló de sus sólidos lazos con las agencias de inteligencia de los Estados Unidos y de una íntima amistad con al menos dos oficiales activos del FBI, incluido, dijo, un importante oficial de la oficina en Washington. `Conozco a una persona de posición muy alta allí', declaró.

"Después pidió que esos comentarios fueran omitidos del artículo y dijo que hacía ańos que había tenido esas relaciones cercanas.

Un funcionario del Gobierno de los Estados Unidos declaró que la CIA no ha tenido relación con Posada `en décadas', y el FBI también negó sus aseveraciones. `El FBI no tiene ahora ni nunca hemos tenido una relación prolongada con Posada.' [...]

"Documentos desclasificados publicados en Washington por los Archivos de Seguridad Nacional apoyan la insinuación de Posada de que el FBI y la CIA tuvieron conocimiento detallado de sus operaciones contra Cuba desde principios de los sesenta hasta mediados de los setenta.

"G. Robert Blakey, asesor principal del Comité Especial sobre Asesinatos creado en 1978 por la Cámara de Representantes, manifestó que había revisado muchos de los expedientes secretos del FBI sobre los cubanos anticastristas a partir de 1978, y había observado muchos ejemplos en los que el Buró se había hecho de la vista gorda con relación a posibles violaciones de la ley. Como él mismo expresó: `Cuando leí algunas de aquellas cosas, y yo soy un viejo fiscal federal, pensé: żPor qué no se acusa a nadie por esto?'

"En cuanto a un punto Posada fue directo y no tuvo arrepentimientos: todavía insiste en tratar de matar a Castro y cree que la violencia es el mejor método para poner fin al comunismo en Cuba."

Al respecto el diario neoyorquino seńala que "Posada admitió con orgullo haber sido el autor de los ataques con bombas a los hoteles realizados el pasado ańo", a los que calificó de "actos de guerra" destinados a privar a Cuba del turismo y las inversiones extranjeras. Y agregó que las bombas estaban dirigidas también "a sembrar la duda en el extranjero acerca de la estabilidad del régimen, a hacer que Cuba pensara que él tenía agentes en las fuerzas armadas y a estimular la oposición interna".

En cuanto a la muerte del turista italiano, Posada la calificó de "accidente fortuito". Dijo: "Ese italiano estaba sentado en el lugar equivocado en el momento equivocado." Ańadió que "tenía la conciencia tranquila". El diario cita sus palabras textuales: "Duermo como un bebé."

Posada describió a Raúl Ernesto Cruz León, el ciudadano salvadoreńo detenido por las autoridades cubanas como autor de varias de estas explosiones, como "un mercenario", y afirmó que Cruz León
"estaba trabajando para él, pero dijo que `tal vez otra docena' que respondía a él permanecía en libertad".

Posada declaró al periódico que "los atentados a los hoteles fueron organizados desde El Salvador y Guatemala. Los explosivos se obtuvieron mediante sus contactos en esos países, y subordinados suyos reclutaron a su vez a correos como Cruz León para que llevaran los explosivos a Cuba y los hicieran detonar en objetivos cuidadosamente seleccionados."

Más adelante el New York Times recoge lo siguiente: "Posada dijo que Mas Canosa sabía muy bien que él estaba detrás de los sabotajes con bombas efectuados en los hoteles el ańo pasado."

Posada reconoció que tiene no menos de cuatro pasaportes de varias nacionalidades y con diferentes nombres. Admitió también que tiene un pasaporte norteamericano, pero no habló de cómo lo había obtenido ni reveló el nombre que usaba en ese pasaporte, diciendo solo que lo usa ocasionalmente para visitar los Estados Unidos "extraoficialmente".

En un segundo artículo publicado en esa misma edición del 12 de julio, el New York Times recoge las declaraciones de un hombre de negocios de origen cubano llamado Antonio Jorge Alvarez, residente en Guatemala, quien aseguró que había visto con creciente preocupación cómo dos de sus socios, actuando en coordinación con un individuo que resultó ser Luis Posada Carriles, compraban explosivos y detonadores y se felicitaban cada vez que una bomba estallaba en Cuba. Incluso llegó a escuchar a estas personas hablar del asesinato de Fidel Castro durante la conferencia cumbre iberoamericana de la isla Margarita.

Alvarez contó al periódico que alarmado, acudió a los oficiales de seguridad guatemaltecos. Cuando no respondieron, escribió una carta que a la larga llegó a las manos de oficiales del FBI de los Estados Unidos. Pero allí la carta despertó lo que Alvarez calificó de "una respuesta sorprendentemente indiferente".

Sobre este asunto, seńala el diario, Posada expresó confianza en que el FBI no estuviera analizando sus operaciones en Guatemala, porque "la primera persona con la que querrían hablar sería conmigo".

En el artículo se refiere que Alvarez está disgustado. "`Yo creo que están todos confabulados, Posada y el FBI', dijo. `Arriesgué mi vida y mi negocio y ellos no hicieron nada.'"

Finalmente, en un artículo publicado el 13 de julio, el New York Times detalla la trayectoria anticubana de Luis Posada Carriles: integrante de una segunda ola de desembarcos durante la invasión por Playa Girón que no pudo entrar en acción, formación en técnicas de demolición, propaganda e inteligencia en una escuela de instrucción de la CIA en Fort Benning, participación en planes y acciones encubiertas contra Cuba en las décadas del 60 y 70 organizados por la CIA desde territorio de los Estados Unidos y de otros países del hemisferio, el ya mencionado sabotaje del avión cubano en Barbados, el trabajo junto a otro connotado agente de la CIA de origen cubano, Félix Rodríguez, en la operación secreta de abastecimiento de la contra nicaragüense, la organización desde territorio centroamericano de nuevas operaciones anticubanas a finales de los ańos 80, entre otras de sus contribuciones a la guerra sucia contra nuestro país.

El periódico cita a Posada:

"La CIA nos enseńó de todo, de todo. Nos enseńó sobre explosivos, asesinatos, bombas, sabotajes. Cuando los cubanos trabajaban para la CIA, se les llamaba patriotas."

Numerosos medios de prensa norteamericanos y de otros países se han hecho eco de estos artículos del New York Times y han comentado la significación de las revelaciones contenidas en ellos. La Fundación Nacional Cubano Americana ha negado las acusaciones, y el propio Posada Carriles ha intentado retractarse. Sin embargo, el New York Times sostiene la veracidad de sus artículos. Como ha llamado la atención un portavoz del periódico, las conversaciones grabadas con Posada existen y están en su poder.

from http://www.granma.cu/1998/98julio/posada-e.html

Model letter to Janet Reno supporting an investigation

Please forward all responses to CAAEF at: caaef@igc.org or see P/F info at end of letter.

I hope many of you will agree to have your name or organization on the letter. Many of us are working hard at keeping this issue alive inside Washington. This is one step - please stay posted for more to come.

Please pass this to others you think will sign on. Note the deadline to have your information in is 11 p.m. on Monday, 20th. The letter will be hand-delivered on Tuesday, 21st July.

You are also encouraged to send your own letter, however we would like to get a good showing of solidarity from our communities.

Thank you all for your support!

Paddy

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Send a message: "YES add my name __________ and organization ____________ to the Janet Reno letter." Call 202-543-6780 or fax your OK to 202-543-6434 or simply respond by e-mail to caaef@igc.org NO LATER THAN MONDAY JUNE 20 at 11 PM!!
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(LETTER)

July **, 1998

The Honorable Janet Reno
Attorney General of the United States
U.S. Department of Justice
Constitution Avenue and 10th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20530

Dear Attorney General Reno:

We are writing as members of the Cuban American Community to express our deep concern about recent news reports of financial links between people living in the U.S. and Luis Posada Carriles, the alleged mastermind of a series of bombings targeting Cuban hotels, restaurants and night clubs last year. In total, 12 bombings occurred in Cuba between April and September 1997. On September 4, 1997, a bomb exploded at the Copacabana Hotel, claiming the life of Fabio di Celmo, an Italian citizen. We request a full investigation of these reports, and if warranted, the prosecution of those involved in violations of U.S. law.

According to the New York Times, Posada Carriles admitted to receiving financial support for acts of international terrorism over the course of several years from the late Jorge Mas Canosa, founder and long-time Chairman of the Cuban American National Foundation(CANF). Additionally, the New York Times claims to be in possession of independent evidence that indicates that financial support for the specific purpose of planting bombs in Cuba last summer came from a number of other individuals within the United States.

We are particularly disturbed by reports that the FBI responded indifferently to credible evidence of the involvement of American citizens when it was presented to them by a Cuban American businessman based in Guatemala at the time of the bombings. We believe that had such evidence come to your attention, it may have helped avert the injuries and loss of life caused by the bombings.

These revelations follow on the heels of an apparent foiled assassination attempt against Fidel Castro by several Cuban Americans who were arrested by the U.S. Coast Guard off the coast of Puerto Rico in October of last year. Recent media stories have reported that one of the rifles found aboard the cabin cruiser La Esperanza, which was owned by a member of the Executive Board of CANF, was registered to the President of CANF. As Cuban Americans, we share a great concern for the situation of our loved ones on the island. However, we strongly oppose the use of violence as a means of demonstrating political opposition. Regardless of the nature of the Cuban government, we can not condone actions that violate international and U.S. law, and most importantly, place our loved ones in danger.

We have committed ourselves to the humanitarian cause of reconciliation between Cubans in exile and our brothers and sisters on the island. We disapprove of any person who from U.S. soil conducts or finances acts of violence against Cubans or Cuban Americans.

We call on you to do all in your power to investigate and prosecute any person under U.S. jurisdiction that is found to be involved in acts of violence against the Cuban state and people. Further, we call on you to condemn in the strongest terms the use of terror to achieve political goals.

We look forward to further contact with you on this issue.

Sincerely,

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
*
* CUBAN AMERICAN ALLIANCE EDUCATION FUND, INC.
*
* CAAEF (East Coast) CAAEF (West Coast)
*
* 614 Maryland Ave., NE, #2 3161 Bridle Dr.
*
* Washington, DC 20002 Hayward, CA 94541
*
* Tel(202)543-6780 e-mail: caaef@igc.org Tel(510)538-9694
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* Fax(202)543-6434 WebPage: www.cubamer.org Fax(510)538-9614
*
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Links to resources on Coca Contra

Powderburns; Cocaine, Contras and the Drug War
by Celerino III Castillo. To purchase ==>

Very readable account of the Contra resupply effort and the role of Cuban Americans among others.