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El Paso Diary: Day 23 in the Trial of Posada Carriles The Forensic Pathologist From Cuba by José Pertierra Through the powerful testimony of the Cuban forensic pathologist, Yleana Vizcaíno Dimé, the prosecution proved to the jury—today—that the death in Havana of Fabio Di Celmo on September 4, 1997 was a homicide. Dr. Vizcaíno testified in El Paso that Fabio Di Celmo died from "a mortal wound that necessarily caused massive hemorrhaging that was impossible to stop." The defense counsel could not impeach her testimony. Consequently, her sworn statements stand as irrefutable evidence in the trial against Luis Posada Carriles. Who is Dr. Yleana Vizcaíno? The Cuban doctor took the stand this morning. She came dressed in a black suit with a white blouse. The prosecutor, Timothy J. Reardon, III, began his direct examination of the witness. Immediately, he asked her to "describe to the ladies and gentlemen of the jury the type of work [she] did in Cuba." In a clear voice, Dr. Vizcaíno replied, "I'm a forensic pathologist at the Institute of Legal Medicine in Havana." Reardon then asked her how long she had been practicing medicine. "I've been a doctor for 21 years, 18 of which have been dedicated to forensic pathology," she said as she looked at the jury. Dr. Vizcaíno went on to tell the jurors that she graduated in 1989 from the Higher Institute of Medical Sciences in Havana. She also told them that she did a four-year medical internship at a clinic in the eastern province of Granma in Cuba. Among several graduate degrees, she also acquired one in the field of bioethics. "My responsibilities now are to organize, plan, oversee and manage all activities at Havana's Institute of Legal Medicine," said Dr. Vizcaíno. Aware that Posada Carriles' attorney is so suspicious that he believes that virtually everyone who lives on the island is in some way affiliated with the Cuban Ministry of the Interior, the prosecutor launched a preventive strike. "Doctor, tell us if the Institute of Public Health is part of the Interior Ministry," he said. A bit surprised by the question, the doctor responded, "No. The Institute of Public health is affiliated with Cuba's Ministry of Public Health." The Autopsy of Fabio Di Celmo Reardon asked Dr. Vizcaíno to recall the events of September 4, 1997. "You performed an autopsy that day on Fabio Di Celmo?" "Yes, I did—at 8:00 p.m. I was assisted by Dr. Marcia Espinosa," she answered. "I show you a document that the court has marked as Exhibit # 116H. Do you recognize it and can you identify it?" Reardon asked. "Yes," she answered, "it's the document that certifies that I performed the autopsy of Fabio Di Celmo on September 4, 1997." "Please give us a brief summary of the autopsy results," the prosecutor asked the doctor. Dr. Vizcaíno summarized the report with these words, "We performed the autopsy at 8:00 p.m. on September 4, 1997 and found very small abrasions—scratches—that had no relation whatsoever with the cause of death. However, we also found two sizable wounds: one that was 10.5 centimeters long and 5 centimeters wide, and a second one with similar characteristics, but 8 centimeters long and 8 centimeters wide. The cause of death was irreversible hypovolemic shock. In other words, profuse arterial hemorrhaging caused by a mortal wound from a metallic object with sharp, jagged borders. The object was of considerable size. The death was inevitable and violent, caused by the velocity with which the metallic object was launched by the shock waves from the explosion, crashing within the neurovascular bundle and paravertebral vessels." Still looking at the jurors as she spoke, Dr. Vizcaíno told them that the death of Fabio Di Celmo was therefore classified as "a homicide." Without yet showing the jurors the autopsy report itself, prosecutor Reardon now showed the witness several photographs of the body of Fabio Di Celmo. One photo showed the abrasions on the left arm of the deceased. Another showed the wounds on his right thigh. Both photographs included a ruler to gauge the size of the wounds. "I placed the ruler on the wounds," said Dr. Vizcaíno. The photos of the deceased Reardon then asked the judge to accept the photographs as evidence, so the jurors on their individual television monitors could also see them. "So ordered," ruled Judge Kathleen Cardone. The jurors carefully studied the first photograph: one that showed the decedent's arm. "These abrasions had nothing to do with the death of Mr. Di Celmo," the doctor told the jury. The next photograph was classified as Government's Exhibit #116a. "This is a photo of the cadaver of Fabio Di Celmo," she told the jury. "You can see that his wounds have been sutured," she added, pointing to the stitches that were evident on the body. The jurors inched closer to the monitors to try and get a better look at Fabio Di Celmo's neck and its noticeable autopsy incision. Earlier in the day and prior to Dr. Vizcaíno taking the stand, the defense attorney Rhonda Anderson had requested that the judge not allow the jury to see this particular photograph. She argued, "The autopsy incision enlarged the size of the wound and thus might inflame the jury." Attorney Anderson also wanted to exclude the autopsy report from being admitted into evidence. She told Judge Cardone, "The Cuban forensic pathologist has no personal knowledge that Di Celmo died from a metallic shrapnel hurled by an explosion." Revealing a shallow understanding of physics and medical science, attorney Anderson said to the Judge, "The metallic object could have been thrown at Mr. Di Celmo by someone." "Mr. Di Celmo is not available to comment on the cause of his death" Prosecutor Reardon stood. He walked toward the podium, while looking at Ms. Anderson who was slowly making her way back to defense counsel table, and offered a sardonic response to her arguments. "Unfortunately, Your Honor, Mr. Di Celmo is not available to comment on the cause of his own death and this is why it is necessary to use the autopsy report." To no one's surprise, the judge rejected Attorney Anderson's arguments and admitted the autopsy report into evidence, as well as the post-autopsy photograph showing Di Celmo's neck wounds. The jurors stared at their television monitors, captivated by the images, their eyes focused on Di Celmo's corpse. The prosecutor then allowed them time to carefully read the autopsy report on their television monitors. "Who wrote this report?" asked Reardon. "I wrote it," Vizcaíno answered. "No further questions, Your Honor. I pass this witness over to the defense," said the prosecutor. Attorney Rhonda Anderson The job of cross-examining Dr. Vizcaíno went to defense attorney Rhonda Anderson, rather than to Arturo Hernández who usually handles cross-examinations. Throughout nearly the entire trial, Anderson has sat at Hernández's side, behind her small Mac laptop, researching, writing and managing the hundreds of exhibits that are part of this case. She looks to be more comfortable behind her personal computer than in front of another human being. Attorney Anderson is a pale woman, with short hair. Like the Brazilian consejero in one of Mario Vargas Llosa's novels, she is so thin that she seems to be always in profile. Her gaze is stern. It looks as if smiles rarely cross her face. With a certain embarrassed unease, she approached the podium and addressed the witness. "Welcome to the United States," she said with a marked southern twang. Dr. Vizcaíno responded with a reserved, "Gracias." This case marks a historic collaboration between the governments of the United States and Cuba. The U.S. Department of Justice is using witnesses and evidence from Cuba to prosecute a former CIA agent who has spent decades waging a dirty war against the Cuban people. Posada Carriles' long criminal history includes the downing of a Cuban passenger airliner with 73 people on board, assassination attempts against Cuba's president and other Cuban government officials and a terrorist bombing campaign meant to undermine the Cuban tourism industry. Did Posada Carriles appreciate the welcome his lawyer offered the forensic pathologist from Cuba? The failed effort of Posada's attorney The script that Posada Carriles' legal team has been following is to engage in character assassination of the witnesses to raise doubts about their credibility. Lead defense attorney, Arturo Hernández, opened fire on all the witnesses and evidence from Cuba even before this case began, "It flows from a poisoned well," he told a Miami television host. This afternoon, the task of impeaching Dr. Vizcaíno fell to attorney Rhonda Anderson. It didn't go well. The defense attorney began by trying to establish that Dr. Vizcaíno does not have experience in traumatic wound cases (and that consequently the doctor is not competent to testify about the cause of Fabio Di Celmo's death). "When you did your medical internship in Cuba, in which areas of medicine did you practice?" asked Anderson. The doctor responded that she worked in a rural hospital in Cuba's Granma Province and that she was in charge of deliveries and other matters associated with gynecology and obstetrics. Anderson seized on this remark to ask, "Then you didn't work on emergency trauma cases, isn't that correct?" But the defense attorney guessed wrong. Dr. Vizcaíno, with a puzzled look on her face, answered that she had indeed attended trauma cases during her medical internship. Attorney Anderson looked deflated. She'd miscalculated. Had this been a baseball game with the attorney at the bat, the umpire would have called Strike One. Trying to gather herself, the defense counsel showed the witness a photograph, evidently taken many years ago, of the Cira García Central Clinic in Havana, the hospital where Fabio Di Celmo was taken immediately after the explosion at the hotel. She asked Dr. Vizcaíno, "Do you recognize this clinic? Isn't it the Circa [sic] García Clinic?" The photo was old and only showed a partial view of the hospital so that at first the doctor had difficulty recognizing it. "I believe it's the clinic's building," she said with some apprehension. Wanting to besmirch the Cuban medical system and allege, among other things, that it is discriminatory, Anderson asked, "That clinic is not for the Cuban people. Isn't that true?" At that Reardon stood up and objected. With some annoyance, the government counsel told the judge that Anderson had posed an inappropriate, impertinent and irrelevant question. "Where do you want to take us with this question?" Judge Cardone asked attorney Anderson. "There," answered Anderson hesitantly, as if it to state that she would take that line of questioning no further. The judge sustained the prosecutor's objection and disallowed the question. Strike Two. Now showing worry—and in the hole with two strikes against her—Anderson anxiously shuffled some papers, much as a nervous batter kicks at the dirt near the plate. She looked in the direction of her lead counsel who beckoned for her. The defense team consulted for half a minute, and Anderson returned to the plate. Bringing instructions from counsel table, she asked, "The wound in Di Celmo's neck is an incision?" The witness gave her a precise and scientific response. "It is a penetrating incision. A penetrating cut. For this reason I used the term penetrating incision in the autopsy report." Attorney Anderson swung with her last question of the day, "Wouldn't it have been possible to stop the bleeding if someone at the hospital had applied compression to Mr. Di Celmo's neck in time?" "The hemorrhage was extremely serious. That's why his death was inevitable. It was a mortal wound by necessity," answered the forensic pathologist. "I have no more questions," said Attorney Anderson sheepishly. Strike Three? It's hard to impeach an articulate and knowledgeable witness. Dr. Yleana Vizcaíno Dimé will soon return to Havana, leaving behind in El Paso—as evidence—her sworn statements that the bomb that went off in the Copacabana Hotel on September 4, 1997, violently hurled metal shrapnel that cut the jugular vein of a 32-year-old-young man named Fabio Di Celmo. This caused irreversible massive bleeding that took his life in minutes. In a few days, the government will play a recording for the jury of an interview that Luis Posada Carriles gave to the New York Times in June of 1998, the one in which he boasts of having been the mastermind of the murder. Posada: "Nothing happened, but it cut the jugular" The journalist who interviewed Posada Carriles is Ann Louise Bardach. She taped parts of the interview. By way of a subpoena duces tecum (one for production of documentary evidence), the prosecutors forced her to turn over the tapes. Posada Carriles' answers to Bardach's questions are quite damning. He readily admits that one of his bombs killed Di Celmo, but blames the victim for his misfortune. After all, he had the bad luck to put himself "in the wrong place at the wrong time." Using the twisted logic of criminals, Posada said of the murder of Fabio Di Celmo, "Nothing happened, but the jugular was cut." Here is a segment of that June 17, 1998 interview, as published by the government in the federal court electronic records system: Luis Posada Carriles: I, I tried to... to blow up ships in some other places. Ann Louise Bardach: Oh. Posada: Not to blow up. Bardach: Yeah. Posada: Let me explain to you. In the... in the bombing, in the... in the hotels... Bardach: Uh-huh. Posada: ...we tried, we put small explosives. Bardach: Right. Posada: We don't... because we don't want to hurt anybody. Bardach: Right. Posada: Just to make a big scandal. And... that the tourists don't come... anymore. Bardach: Ah... Posada: Why? We can't put a... put bombs and explosives and blow up the whole... Bardach: Yeah. ...but this is not... Posada: Yeah. ...our… Bardach: Oh, I understand. So, in other words, with the tourist bombings, it's because in the book, you know... I read this about how upset you were about the tourism... Posada: Yeah. Bardach: You know? And remember I was telling you how different Cuba is, with the money that's coming from tourism? I told you. Posada: Yes. Bardach: As you know... uhm, so you were saying... so, what you wanted, the intention was to scare off the tourists... Yeah. Not to kill the tourists. Sure. [UI]... Bardach: But one, you know one person was killed. Posada: Yeah, but, you know what happened? No. Sixty feet away... Sixty feet away...there was a poor guy... sit down in a... in... and took the jugular (Noise.). This is el más fatal del mundo (he is the unluckiest in the world)... because it wasn't [UI]... [UI]. Nothing happened... but it took the jugular.... triste, vaya. It's sad. Bardach: Okay. Un momentico. (Noise; microphone or tape.) Pobrecito. Bardach: Okay. Just a minute. (Noise; microphone or recorder.) Poor man. Posada: Yes. Yeah, uhm... he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Posada Carriles later added during the interview that he had no remorse about the death of Fabio Di Celmo. "I sleep like a baby," he said. And sleep like a baby is what he has done throughout the trial in El Paso: he dozes in his chair as though nothing were going on. Today he didn't even look at the screen to see Fabio Di Celmo's prone corpse. Nor was he the least bit bothered by the testimony about Fabio Di Celmo's cause of death—shrapnel from one of his own bombs. Posada Carriles slept like a baby all the way through the testimony. José Pertierra practices law in Washington, DC. He represents the government of Venezuela in the case to extradite Luis Posada Carriles. Translated by Manuel Talens and Machetera. They are members of Tlaxcala, the international network of translators for linguistic diversity (http://www.tlaxcala-int.org).
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Diario de El Paso: La forense cubana por José Pertierra Febrero 24, 2011. El Paso, Texas.- A través del testimonio contundente de la médico forense cubana, Yleana Vizcaíno Dimé, hoy la fiscalía probó que la muerte de Fabio Di Celmo el 4 de septiembre de 1997 en La Habana fue un homicidio. La doctora Vizcaíno Dimé testificó ante el jurado en El Paso que Fabio Di Celmo murió de “una herida mortal por necesidad que le causó sangramiento masivo que fue imposible detener”. La defensa no pudo impugnar su testimonio y, consecuentemente, sus declaraciones constituyen evidencia no controvertida en el juicio contra Luis Posada Carriles. ¿QUIÉN ES ILEANA VIZCAINO?
La médico cubana asumió el estrado esta mañana, vestida con un traje negro. El fiscal Timothy J. Reardon III condujo el interrogatorio por la fiscalía. Inmediatamente le pidió que describiera su trabajo. ”Soy médico forense en el Instituto de Medicina Legal en La Habana”, dijo la doctora. ”Llevo 21 años de médico, 18 de los cuales los dedico a la Medicina Legal”. Contó que se graduó en 1989, en el Instituto Superior de Ciencias Médicas en La Habana, y que rindió servicio social en la provincia cubana de Granma, por cuatro años. Tiene también un diplomado en Bioética. Ahora “organizo, planeo, distribuyo y controlo toda la actividad del Instituto de Medicina Legal, adscrito al Ministerio de Salud Pública de Cuba”, relató la Dra. Vizcaíno. Sabiendo que al abogado de Posada Carriles le gusta vincular a cada cubano que reside en Cuba con el MININT, el Fiscal lanzó un ataque preventivo. ”Díganos doctora si el Instituto de Salud Pública es parte del Ministerio del Interior”. Un poco sorprendida por una pregunta tan rara, la médico respondió: “No. Estamos vinculados al Ministerio de Salud”. LA AUTOPSIA DE FABIO DI CELMO
Reardon entonces le pidió a la Doctora Vizcaíno que recordara el 4 de septiembre de 1997. “¿Usted realizó una autopsia ese día a Fabio Di Celmo?”. ”Sí. A eso de las 8 de la noche”, respondió ella. ”Me asistió la Dra. Marcia Espinosa”, añadió. ”Le muestro un documento que la corte ha clasificado como 116h ¿Usted lo reconoce y pudiera identificarlo?”, le preguntó Reardon a la médico forense. ”Sí”, respondió ella, “es el documento que certifica que yo realicé la autopsia de Fabio Di Celmo el 4 de septiembre de 1997″. “Por favor facilítenos un breve resumen de los resultados de la autopsia”, le pidió el fiscal a la doctora. La Dra. Vizcaíno resumió el documento con estas palabras: “Ese día nosotros realizamos la necropsia a las 8 de la noche y encontramos excoriaciones pequeñísimas -arañazos- que no guardaban relación alguna con la muerte. Sin embargo, encontramos dos heridas de tamaño considerable inciso-penetrantes de 10,5 centímetros de largo y 5 centímetros de ancho. La segunda herida era de características similares, pero de 8 centímetros de largo y 8 centímetros de ancho. La causas de la muerte fueron shock hipovolémico irreversible. Es decir, un sangramiento profuso de las arterias causado por una lesión mortal por un objeto metálico de bordes irregulares y filosos. El objeto es de un tamaño considerable. La muerte fue inevitable y violenta, causada por la velocidad con la que fue lanzado el objeto metálico por las ondas expansivas de la explosión y que resultó en la sección del paquete vásculo-nervioso y vasos paravertebrales.” Concluyó la doctora que la muerte de Fabio Di Celmo fue “un homicidio”. Sin todavía mostrarle el informe de la autopsia al jurado, el fiscal Reardon le enseñó a la Dra. Vizcaíno varias fotos del cadáver de Fabio Di Celmo. Una foto de los arañazos en el brazo izquierdo del difunto. Otra de las lesiones en su muslo derecho. Ambas con una escala interpuesta para medir mejor el tamaño de las excoriaciones. “Yo autoricé el uso de la escala”, testificó la doctora. LAS FOTOS DEL CADAVER
Reardon entonces le pidió a la jueza que aceptara las fotos como evidencia y que se las proyectaran a los monitores de los integrantes del jurado. La Jueza Kathleen Cardone accedió y los integrantes del jurado las estudiaron cuidadosamente en las pantallas individuales que tienen al lado de sus asientos. ”Esas excoriaciones no tuvieron que ver con la muerte del Sr. Di Celmo”, le contó la doctora al jurado. El fiscal le mostró otra foto a la doctora. Clasificada por la corte como 116a. ”Esa es una foto del cadáver de Fabio Di Celmo”, le dijo ella al jurado. ”Las heridas están suturadas”. Al proyectarse esta última imagen en las pantallas, los integrantes del jurado acercaron sus miradas a los monitores para ver mejor el cuello del difunto con la evidente incisión de la autopsia. Antes del comienzo del testimonio de la Dra. Vizcaíno, la abogada defensora Rhonda Anderson había pedido que la jueza no permitiera que el jurado viera esa última foto, porque “la incisión de la autopsia aumentó el tamaño de la herida y esa imagen puede enardecer al jurado”, argumentó. La abogada Anderson tampoco quiso que el jurado leyera el reporte de la autopsia. Dijo que “la médico forense cubana no tiene conocimiento personal de que Di Celmo murió debido a una esquirla de metal lanzada por una explosión”. Añadió que “alguien le pudiera haber tirado el objeto de metal”. REARDON: EL SR DI CELMO NO ESTÁ DISPONIBLE El fiscal Reardon respondió: “lastimosamente el Sr. Di Celmo no está disponible para comentar sobre la causa de su propia muerte, y por eso es necesario utilizar el reporte de la autopsia”. La jueza rechazó los argumentos de la abogada Anderson y autorizó el uso de la foto del cadáver de Fabio y también el reporte de la autopsia. Ambos cautivaron a todos en la sala judicial. Los integrantes del jurado miraron largo rato las heridas en el cuerpo inerte de Fabio y leyeron atentamente el reporte de la autopsia. “¿Quién escribió ese reporte?”, preguntó Reardon. ”Yo lo escribí”, contestó con firmeza la doctora cubana. Ahí terminó el interrogatorio de la Doctora Yleana Vizcaíno Dimé ante el fiscal Timothy J. Reardon. La jueza anunció el receso de almuerzo y nos despidió hasta las 2 de la tarde. LA ABOGADA RHONDA ANDERSON El contra-interrogatorio de la doctora no lo condujo el abogado Arturo Hernández. La tarea le tocó a la abogada defensora Rhonda Anderson. Durante casi todo este proceso legal, ella se ha mantenido sentada al lado del abogado Arturo Hernández –detrás de una laptop Mac-, investigando, escribiendo y administrando los cientos de escritos, documentos y fotos que sostiene la defensa de Posada Carriles. Ella parece estar más cómoda ante una laptop que ante otro ser humano. Una mujer pálida, de pelo corto, Anderson es extremadamente delgada. Como el consejero brasileño de uno de los cuentos de Mario Vargas Llosa, esta abogada siempre parece estar de perfil. Su mirada es tan severa que da la impresión de que por su rostro no han pasado muchas sonrisas. Con cierta incomodidad, se acercó al podio para enfrentarse a la testigo. Con un marcado acento del sur de los Estados Unidos, le dijo a la Dra. Vizcaíno: “Welcome to the United States”. ”Gracias”, respondió escuetamente la Doctora Vizcaíno. Este caso ha marcado una histórica colaboración entre los gobiernos de los Estados Unidos y Cuba para enjuiciar a Luis Posada Carriles, un ex agente de la CIA que se ha pasado décadas haciéndole una guerra sucia al pueblo cubano. Su largo historial delictivo incluye el derribo de un avión civil de Cubana de Aviación con 73 personas a bordo, atentados contra el Presidente de la República de Cuba y otros funcionarios del gobierno cubano, más una campaña de bombas para aterrorizar y así socavar la industria turística cubana. No creo que la bienvenida que le ofreció la abogada defensora a la testigo cubana esta tarde sea del agrado de Posada Carriles. EL FALLIDO ESFUERZO DE LA ABOGADA DE POSADA Como he visto durante todo el juicio, el guión de la defensa de Posada Carriles intenta desprestigiar a los testigos cubanos e impugnar su testimonio. Esa era la tarea que le correspondía esta tarde a la abogada Rhonda Anderson. No le fue muy bien. Comenzó tratando de establecer que la Doctora Vizcaíno no tiene experiencia en casos de lesiones traumáticas (y consecuentemente que la doctora no está preparada para opinar adecuadamente sobre la causa de la muerte de Fabio Di Celmo). “Cuándo usted hizo su servicio social en Cuba, ¿en qué áreas de la Medicina trabajó?”, preguntó Anderson. La doctora respondió que trabajó en un hospital rural en la provincia Granma, y que se encargó de partos, asuntos relacionados con la ginecología y la obstétrica. Ahí se aprovechó Anderson y le preguntó a la doctora: “Entonces usted no ejerció en asuntos de trauma emergente, ¿cierto?”. Pero Anderson se había equivocado. La Dra. Vizcaíno respondió que sí había atendido casos de trauma. Anderson visiblemente se desinfló. Había calculado mal. Si la abogada estuviera al bate en un juego de pelota, el árbitro le hubiera cantado ahí mismo el primer strike. La abogada entonces le mostró a la doctora una fotografía, evidentemente tomada hace muchos años, de la Clínica Central Cira García en la Ciudad de La Habana. Le preguntó a la Dra. Vizcaíno si reconocía a la clínica Circa (sic) García. La foto era tan vieja y solamente captaba parte del complejo clínico del hospital donde falleció Fabio Di Celmo que al principio le costó trabajo a la doctora reconocerlo. “Creo que es el edificio de la clínica”, dijo ella aún no muy convencida. ”Esa clínica no es para la población cubana. ¿Cierto?”, preguntó la abogada. Reardon se paró. Molesto, le dijo a la jueza que era una pregunta inapropiada e impertinente. ”¿A dónde quiere usted llevarnos con esa pregunta?”, le preguntó la Jueza Cardone a la abogada Anderson. ”Hasta ahí”, respondió Anderson titubeando. La jueza desestimó la pregunta, dándole la razón al fiscal. El segundo strike contra la abogada Anderson. Visiblemente consternada, la abogada movió los papeles que tenía en el podio de un lado a otro. Miró hacia Arturo Hernández, y este le pidió que se le acercara. Consultaron medio minuto y Anderson regresó al bate. ”¿La herida de en el cuello de Di Celmo es un inciso?”, le preguntó a la Dra. Vizcaíno. ”Inciso-penetrante. Una cortada que le penetró. Por eso usé la frase inciso-penetrante en el reporte de la autopsia”, respondió con precisión la médico cubana. ”¿No hubiera sido posible detener el sangramiento si en el hospital le hubieran aplicado una compresión al cuello?”, disparó la abogada de Posada Carriles. “El sangramiento fue en extremo grave. Por eso la muerte fue inevitable. Era una herida mortal por necesidad”, respondió la doctora. ”No tengo más preguntas”, declaró la abogada Anderson. ¿Tercer strike? Era obvio que había sido ponchada por una testigo profesional, articulada y conocedora, cuyo testimonio no pudo ser impugnado por los trucos leguleyescos de los abogados de Posada Carriles. LO QUE NOS DEJO LA DOCTORA La Doctora Yleana Vizcaíno Dimé concluyó su testimonio y pronto regresará a La Habana, pero deja en El Paso sus declaraciones como evidencia de que la bomba que estalló en el Hotel Copacabana el 4 de septiembre de 1997, lanzó una esquirla de metal que le cortó la yugular a un joven de 32 años llamado Fabio Di Celmo. Le causó el sangramiento irreversible que lo mató. Pronto el jurado escuchará una grabación de Luis Posada Carriles, durante una entrevista al periódico The New York Times, en la cual alardea de ser el autor intelectual de ese asesinato. POSADA: NO PASÓ NADA, PERO LE CORTÓ LA YUGULAR La fiscalía tiene citada a la periodista Ann Louise Bardach, quien entrevistó a Luis Posada Carriles en junio de 1998 en Aruba. Ella grabó gran parte de esa entrevista y-bajo órdenes judiciales- Bardach tuvo que compartirla con la fiscalía. El intercambio entre Bardach y Posada Carriles es comprometedor. Posada admite que una de sus bombas mató a Di Celmo, pero la culpa la tuvo la víctima -tuvo la mala suerte de situarse cerca de la bomba en el momento equivocado. Empleando la lógica retorcida de los asesinos, Posada le dijo a la periodista sobre el asesinato de Fabio Di Celmo: “No pasó nada, pero le cortó la yugular”. Bardach lo entrevistó en inglés. La traducción al español es mía:
Posteriormente, Posada Carriles le añadió a Bardach que no tiene remordimiento por la muerte de Fabio Di Celmo. ”Yo duermo como un bebé”, le dijo. Y es precisamente eso lo que ha hecho consistentemente durante este proceso en El Paso: se la pasa durmiendo en un asiento como si nada. Hoy Posada ni siquiera miró la pantalla para ver el cuerpo inerte de Fabio Di Celmo. Tampoco se perturbó durante el testimonio sobre la autopsia que la médico forense le realizó a la persona que su bomba mató en La Habana. OTRO TESTIGO Y UNA MOCIÓN El juicio quedó suspendido hasta el lunes. Mañana les cuento acerca del testimonio del otro testigo que la fiscalía presentó “fuera de turno”, hoy por la tarde, y también de una moción de la defensa de Posada Carriles para tomar declaraciones de una persona que está en Guatemala. Si la jueza la concede, tendríamos otra prórroga prolongada en el juicio, porque los abogados viajarían hasta allá para tomarle el testimonio.
José Pertierra es abogado y tiene su bufete en Washington DC. Es el representante legal del gobierno de Venezuela para la extradición de Luis Posada Carriles. |
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