EL PASO, Texas (AP) - A federal immigration judge on Monday denied bond for a 77-year-old Cuban militant accused of orchestrating the 1976 bombing of a Cuban jetliner. Luis Posada Carriles, 77, has been held in an El Paso detention center since March on charges he sneaked illegally into the United States through Mexico. He is seeking asylum in the U.S.
Posada's arrest strained relations between the United States and several Latin American and Caribbean countries. Those governments want the Bush administration to deport Posada to Venezuela to stand trial on the airplane-bombing charges.
Among the factors Judge William A. Abbott said he would consider in Posada's case was whether he had ever provided material support for acts of terror. Abbott asked lawyers to provide briefs on whether the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion could be considered an act of terrorism. Recently declassified CIA documents show that the CIA trained Posada to use weapons and explosives to participate in the failed invasion of Cuba.
Abbott said the sponsor of the terror didn't matter, even if it were the U.S. government. He did not elaborate, except to ask for the briefs.
| Another liberal asshat judge. |
Venezuelan officials have said Posada was in Caracas when he allegedly planned the attack, which killed 73 people when the plane crashed off the coast of Barbados. Posada has denied any involvement.
| The guy needs to be tried for terrorism and multiple murder. He then needs his neck stretched if he's guilty. But he won't get a fair trial in Venezuela, that's for sure. |
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