"Hero" or "Terrorist" Cuban Exile Luis Posada Carriles Feted in Miami Following Acquittal on 11 Counts; Deportation Sought by U.S. Government
Luis Posada Carriles was 30 years old at the time of the 1959 Cuban Revolution. He was sent to prison by the regime of Fidel Castro and subsequently sought asylum in Mexico. Posada then emigrated to the United States where he helped to organize President John F. Kennedy's and the CIA's failed 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion. He then returned to the U.S. where he became a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army and was active in the CIA's Operation 40--a guerilla force which operated covertly to overthrow the Castro regime. Posada also developed close ties to anti-Castro groups in the U.S., including the Cuban American National Foundation.
Eventually suspected by the CIA of alleged involvement in several bombing plots, Posada relocated to Venezuela in 1968. Carriles became a chief of operations for Venezuela's intelligence agencies. The CIA severed all ties with Posada in 1976, on suspicion that he was allegedly involved in cocaine trafficking. That same year, he was arrested in Venezuela for alleged involvement in the bombing of Cubana airlines flight 455, which killed all 73 people on board. He was acquitted in a trial in military court, however the verdict was overturned and Posada was retried in a civil court. He escaped from prison in Venezuela and sought asylum in Chile.
Posada was imprisoned in Chile until 1985, when he escaped from prison again, dressing as a priest. He fled to El Salvador, where he again became involved in U.S. activities in the region, helping to provide supplies to the Contra forces opposed to the Sandinista regime of Nicaragua for the administration of President Ronald Reagan. Following the Reagan administration, Posada became a security advisor to the Guatemalan government. He was shot in Guatemala City in 1990, upon information and belief by Cuban agents.
Posada was implicated in a series of bombings in Cuba in 1997 which killed a Canadian citizen and wounded 11 other people. He was arrested in Panama City in 2000 with 200 pounds of explosives which were allegedly to be used to assassinate Castro, who was to visit Panama for the first time since 1959. In 2004, Panamanian President Mireya Moscoso pardoned Posada and his alleged co-conspirators. Posada requested asylum in the United States in 2005, and he was detained by the Department of Homeland Security, which sought to deport him. He was released on bond in 2007, and was indicted on seven counts of alleged immigration fraud. In 2009, a grand jury in El Paso, Texas, issued a superseding indictment against Posada, charging him with 11 counts, including immigration fraud, obstruction of a terrorism investigation and terrorism charges relating to the 1997 Cuban bombings. As reported by the Miami Herald, Posada was tried in a 13 week trial in the Western District of Texas in 2010. The jury took 3 hours to find him not guilty on all charges.
Last week, the 83 year-old Posada received a gala dinner in Miami by Cuban exile organizations including Alpha 66, intended to help defray his legal expenses. Posada's counsel stated that they believed that the jury was favorably disposed to Posada as a result of his military history. However, as a result of his 2004 Panamanian conviction, Posada is barred from seeking residency in the U.S. No other countries will accept Posada, however, besides Cuba and Venezuela, and the U.S. has refused to deport him to Cuba or Venezuela, citing concerns that he might be tortured. Venezuela has announced that it will re-file its petition to extradite Posada. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has called Posada the "biggest terrorist" on the continent, and Castro has denounced Posada as a "coward."
