Gold9472
09-28-2005, 09:24 AM
Cuban militant can stay in U.S.
http://www.borderlandnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050928/NEWS/509280304/1001
(Gold9472: The U.S. harboring a terrorist?)
Louie Gilot
9/28/2005
Alleged Cuban terrorist Luis Posada Carriles can stay in the United States, an El Paso immigration judge ruled late Monday.
Judge William L. Abbott granted a deferral of removal, meaning Posada would not be deported to Cuba or Venezuela -- his country of citizenship -- where he is wanted in connection with the bombing of a Cuban airliner in 1976 that killed 73 people.
Posada, who is 77 and has skin cancer, will remain in detention for 90 days. After that time, the government must free him or take him back to court and prove he is a danger to the community to justify further imprisonment.
Officials of Immigration and Customs Enforcement declined to talk about their plans.
Posada's lawyer, Matthew Archambeault of Corral Gables, Fla., said his client expected a ruling in his favor.
"He is very happy it came so quickly so we can start on the 90 days," he said.
Posada wants to go live in Miami with his wife and children, his lawyers have said.
The ruling has been awaited by critics of the Bush administration, who said letting Posada stay would show that the United States has a double standard for terrorists.
"It's giving a signal to the world -- there's good terrorism and bad terrorism. And we look after our terrorists," said Luis Martin, a member of an anti-war group in Albuquerque who came to El Paso to picket for Posada's deportation during the trial.
Posada is an anti-Castro activist and a former CIA operative whose case "reads like a character from one of Robert Ludlum's espionage thrillers, with all the plot twists and turns Ludlum is famous for," Judge Abbott wrote in his decision.
Posada worked for the CIA during the Cold War, court documents showed, and for the United States government in Central America in support of the Contras in Nicaragua.
Last month, Posada withdrew his petition for asylum in the United States because he would have to reveal politically sensitive issues on the witness stand and he did not want to embarrass the United States, his lawyer said then.
In court documents filed Monday night, Abbott notes that Posada recognized he was ineligible for asylum because of his criminal past, which includes a series of hotel bombings in Cuba in 1997 and an alleged plot to kill Castro in 2000.
Posada opted instead for a deferral of removal on grounds that he would be tortured if deported.
In their closing arguments Monday, prosecutors said Posada could be tortured by Venezuelan jailers or by Cuban operatives who could be given access to Posada in Venezuela.
Posada allegedly entered the United States illegally in March.
He was arrested in Miami and taken to the immigration detention center on Hawkins Boulevard and Montana Avenue in El Paso for security reasons.
Archambeault said his client was treated well in detention and was getting healthier and more optimistic every day.
Louie Gilot may be reached at lgilot@elpasotimes.com, 546-6131.
http://www.borderlandnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050928/NEWS/509280304/1001
(Gold9472: The U.S. harboring a terrorist?)
Louie Gilot
9/28/2005
Alleged Cuban terrorist Luis Posada Carriles can stay in the United States, an El Paso immigration judge ruled late Monday.
Judge William L. Abbott granted a deferral of removal, meaning Posada would not be deported to Cuba or Venezuela -- his country of citizenship -- where he is wanted in connection with the bombing of a Cuban airliner in 1976 that killed 73 people.
Posada, who is 77 and has skin cancer, will remain in detention for 90 days. After that time, the government must free him or take him back to court and prove he is a danger to the community to justify further imprisonment.
Officials of Immigration and Customs Enforcement declined to talk about their plans.
Posada's lawyer, Matthew Archambeault of Corral Gables, Fla., said his client expected a ruling in his favor.
"He is very happy it came so quickly so we can start on the 90 days," he said.
Posada wants to go live in Miami with his wife and children, his lawyers have said.
The ruling has been awaited by critics of the Bush administration, who said letting Posada stay would show that the United States has a double standard for terrorists.
"It's giving a signal to the world -- there's good terrorism and bad terrorism. And we look after our terrorists," said Luis Martin, a member of an anti-war group in Albuquerque who came to El Paso to picket for Posada's deportation during the trial.
Posada is an anti-Castro activist and a former CIA operative whose case "reads like a character from one of Robert Ludlum's espionage thrillers, with all the plot twists and turns Ludlum is famous for," Judge Abbott wrote in his decision.
Posada worked for the CIA during the Cold War, court documents showed, and for the United States government in Central America in support of the Contras in Nicaragua.
Last month, Posada withdrew his petition for asylum in the United States because he would have to reveal politically sensitive issues on the witness stand and he did not want to embarrass the United States, his lawyer said then.
In court documents filed Monday night, Abbott notes that Posada recognized he was ineligible for asylum because of his criminal past, which includes a series of hotel bombings in Cuba in 1997 and an alleged plot to kill Castro in 2000.
Posada opted instead for a deferral of removal on grounds that he would be tortured if deported.
In their closing arguments Monday, prosecutors said Posada could be tortured by Venezuelan jailers or by Cuban operatives who could be given access to Posada in Venezuela.
Posada allegedly entered the United States illegally in March.
He was arrested in Miami and taken to the immigration detention center on Hawkins Boulevard and Montana Avenue in El Paso for security reasons.
Archambeault said his client was treated well in detention and was getting healthier and more optimistic every day.
Louie Gilot may be reached at lgilot@elpasotimes.com, 546-6131.