Thursday, May 17, 2007
Pacifica Commentary For May 16, 2007
Luis Posada Carrilles
One of Latin America's most notorious criminals, a terrorist, continues to live freely within the United States.
In 1976 Luis Posada Carriles was charged by Venezuela with masterminding the bombing in flight of an airliner and killing all 73 passengers including 24 members of Cuba's fencing team and 11 Guyanese medical students. Prior to 9/11 this was the deadliest attack on an aircraft ever to occur in the Western Hemisphere.
Posada Carriles escaped from prison in 1985 and continued his terrorism. He was linked to the bombings of several hotels in Havana. In the year 2000 he was arrested in Panama for attempting to kill Fidel Castro and many of the audience in a school auditorium.
In 2005 Posada reentered the United States illegally and took up residence in a luxurious Miami apartment. The Department of Homeland Security failed to detain him. In May of that year Venezuela formally requested his extradition from the United States so he could be tried for 73 counts of murder in the 1976 airline bombing.
Homeland Security claimed that Posada might be tortured if he were sent to Venezuela. Apparently Homeland Security had confused Venezuela with our concentration camp in Guantanamo.
And now various Members of Congress have demanded to know why Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez has never declared Posada a security threat and has not jailed him under the Patriot Act.
In the meantime Cuba had decided to assist the United States in efforts to curb terrorism. Five non-violent investigators from Cuba were in the process of researching terrorism in Miami. They are Antonio Guerrero, Fernando Gonzalez, Gerardo Hernandez, Rene Gonzales and Ramon Lebanino. Rather than praising the work of these Cuban citizens, U.S. authorities have detained all five of them, thrown them into solitary confinement and slammed them with sentences from 15 years to double life in prison.
This blatant hypocrisy is completely consistent with the behavior of our current Attorney General and the President who appointed him. It should be added that terrorism on the part of certain exiles from Cuba has been either supported or ignored by our government for five decades. The Bush/Gonzalez group, however, has brought this issue to its apex. They not only continue to harbor terrorists but they have codified torture in their failed efforts to occupy and control Iraq and Afghanistan.
The terrorist Luis Posada Carriles must be detained and tried. The five Cuban citizens who have dedicated their lives to fighting terrorism must be freed.
Please listen to WORLD FOCUS ON Sunday, May 20th at 10:00 AM. (KPFK, 90.7 fm). My guests will be students and faculty at the University of California who intend to fast until the Regents of the University stop the corruption of using academia as a research center for nuclear annihilation.
One of Latin America's most notorious criminals, a terrorist, continues to live freely within the United States.
In 1976 Luis Posada Carriles was charged by Venezuela with masterminding the bombing in flight of an airliner and killing all 73 passengers including 24 members of Cuba's fencing team and 11 Guyanese medical students. Prior to 9/11 this was the deadliest attack on an aircraft ever to occur in the Western Hemisphere.
Posada Carriles escaped from prison in 1985 and continued his terrorism. He was linked to the bombings of several hotels in Havana. In the year 2000 he was arrested in Panama for attempting to kill Fidel Castro and many of the audience in a school auditorium.
In 2005 Posada reentered the United States illegally and took up residence in a luxurious Miami apartment. The Department of Homeland Security failed to detain him. In May of that year Venezuela formally requested his extradition from the United States so he could be tried for 73 counts of murder in the 1976 airline bombing.
Homeland Security claimed that Posada might be tortured if he were sent to Venezuela. Apparently Homeland Security had confused Venezuela with our concentration camp in Guantanamo.
And now various Members of Congress have demanded to know why Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez has never declared Posada a security threat and has not jailed him under the Patriot Act.
In the meantime Cuba had decided to assist the United States in efforts to curb terrorism. Five non-violent investigators from Cuba were in the process of researching terrorism in Miami. They are Antonio Guerrero, Fernando Gonzalez, Gerardo Hernandez, Rene Gonzales and Ramon Lebanino. Rather than praising the work of these Cuban citizens, U.S. authorities have detained all five of them, thrown them into solitary confinement and slammed them with sentences from 15 years to double life in prison.
This blatant hypocrisy is completely consistent with the behavior of our current Attorney General and the President who appointed him. It should be added that terrorism on the part of certain exiles from Cuba has been either supported or ignored by our government for five decades. The Bush/Gonzalez group, however, has brought this issue to its apex. They not only continue to harbor terrorists but they have codified torture in their failed efforts to occupy and control Iraq and Afghanistan.
The terrorist Luis Posada Carriles must be detained and tried. The five Cuban citizens who have dedicated their lives to fighting terrorism must be freed.
Please listen to WORLD FOCUS ON Sunday, May 20th at 10:00 AM. (KPFK, 90.7 fm). My guests will be students and faculty at the University of California who intend to fast until the Regents of the University stop the corruption of using academia as a research center for nuclear annihilation.
