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El Paso Diary: Day 31 in the Trial of Posada Carriles Tony Álvarez Links Posada Carriles to the Bombings in Havana by José Pertierra Yesterday was a rough day. Today the witness reentered the courtroom with melancholy eyes, a slow step, and his shoulders sagging from the weight of his life's burdens. But the Government did not have to force Tony Álvarez to come to El Paso to testify against Luis Posada Carriles. He offered of his own free will, just as he did 15 years ago, when he warned Guatemalan intelligence and the FBI that Posada Carriles was involved in a terrorist conspiracy to place bombs in the most famous hotels and restaurants in Cuba. Limits set on testimony Yesterday Judge Kathleen Cardone ruled that the jury would not be allowed to see a key document that links Posada Carriles to the bombing campaign in Havana. "It does not contain sufficient characteristics to satisfy the rules of evidence," she had said tersely. This morning, prosecutor Jerome Teresinski informed the judge, "Your Honor, we've told the witness that he is not allowed to speak of the fax." And thus, the legal boundaries around what Tony Álvarez could say were drawn. The first questions posed to him by Teresinski were softballs. They were meant to simply get the witness to recollect things that he had seen or heard in Guatemala in August 1997. But Teresinski's questioning had to be more delicate the closer he got closer to the forbidden subject matter. Trying to avoid objections to any questions that would elicit hearsay evidence, Teresinski asked the witness about the things that Álvarez had seen with his own eyes rather than what he had heard someone else say. A difficult task. "When you returned from your trip, did you see your secretary?" asked Teresinski. "Yes," said Álvarez hesitantly, not knowing how much more he could say. "How did you interpret the behavior she showed?" asked Teresinski. "I saw that she was worried," answered the witness. "Did your secretary give you any information that was not related to the business?" asked the prosecutor. The defense attorney immediately objected. "That question is not appropriate, Your Honor. The prosecutor is leading the witness." "Don't lead the witness, Mr. Teresinski," the judge scolded. Teresinski reframed the question. "What did you do after speaking with your secretary?" "I spoke to someone in the Guatemalan government," answered Tony Álvarez. "Why?" Teresinski asked. The witness hesitated and gave a vague response, "Because of some suspicious activities that had nothing to do with my business." "What else did you do?" asked the prosecutor. "I wrote a letter to President Arzú," the witness answered. "Did you share the letter with anyone else?" asked Teresinski. "Yes. With the Miami Herald and the New York Times," said the witness. "I followed the suggestion from Diego Arzú, the president's son, and spoke with Presidential Intelligence." It may be that Álvarez is still not aware that Posada Carriles was working with Guatemalan Presidential Intelligence during the administration of President Vinicio Cerezo Arévalo at the end of the 1980s. Although President Arzú's was a different era, many of Cerezo's intelligence officers had remained in place. It is not surprising that the investigation didn't go anywhere. Hearsay Teresinski and his witness were in the legal straightjacket known as hearsay. It restrained their attempts to get the witness to articulate key information for the jury regarding Posada Carriles' role in the bombing campaign in Havana. Teresinski charged ahead. He asked his witness, "Do you recall the contents of the letter?" "Hearsay!" objected defense attorney Arturo Hernández. This time the judge overruled the objection. She said that although the witness may not testify about what the letter said, he was allowed to tell the jury that he remembered what it said—but only that he remembered it. "Do you remember what Posada Carriles told Pepe Álvarez in your office?" asked Teresinski. "Hearsay!" objected Hernández again, and the judge repeated her ruling. The witness could testify that he remembered someone having said something to him, but could not testify as to what that something was. Frustrated by the legal straightjacket, Teresinski then showed the witness—although not the jury—a copy of the letter that Álvarez had said he had drafted and given to President Arzú's son. He asked the witness to read it to himself. He then asked him to place the letter face down on the desk in front of him. "Without reading from the letter or looking at it again, can you tell us what you remember you wrote in the letter?" asked Teresinski. The Chicano juror looked at the African American sitting next to him with a puzzled expression. Both looked confused. It was clear that neither understood what the prosecutor was trying to accomplish. Perhaps they were asking themselves, "What does the secretary have to do with all of this? What suspicious activities are they talking about? Why don't they tell us what these were? Why can't we read the letter? Wouldn't it make more sense for the witness to read the letter instead of turning it face down and then trying to remember what it says?" The jurors don't know it, but they will not get to read that letter—nor the Solo fax—because Judge Cardone already ruled those inadmissible. The judge did leave an opening for Teresinski. "Parts of the letter may be told, but other parts are hearsay," the judge had said. Trying to squeeze through the tiny legal opening, Teresinski asked, "What did you do after you wrote the letter?" It was difficult to see the witness while he testified, because he is very short and the television monitor in front of him covered up his entire face. The plump woman on the first row of the jury box signaled with her hands to the prosecutor that she couldn't see the witness. She gestured for them to move the monitor. Teresinski called the matter to the attention of the clerk of the court, who walked to the witness stand and adjusted the monitor so that Tony Álvarez could be seen. It was the first time that the jurors had been able to see his face as he testified. An exception to the hearsay rule allows key testimony in "I installed a hidden intercom between Pepe Álvarez's office and my own," the witness stated. "That was how I heard Posada Carriles talk about money." After a private sidebar between the prosecutor and defense attorney, Judge Cardone ruled that the witness could talk about the things that he had heard Posada Carriles, Pepe Álvarez and José Burgos say. "They are part of the same conspiracy," said the judge, "and therefore their declarations are evidence and are exempt from the exclusive limitations of hearsay." All right, then! She had finally loosened the legal straightjacket and allowed Tony Álvarez to say something substantive on the stand. "How did you know that the voice you heard through the intercom was that of Posada Carriles?" asked Teresinski. Álvarez responded instantly, "Because he has a very peculiar way of speaking," referring to the speech impediment that Posada Carriles acquired when he lost part of his tongue and half of his chin in an attempt on his life in Guatemala in 1990. The letter from Tony Álvarez to the president of Guatemala remained excluded as evidence but the judge ruled that the witness could testify as to its contents. He was even allowed to look at it "to refresh his memory." Yet that is how the witness was able to tell the jury that he had heard Posada Carriles, Pepe Álvarez and José Burgos talking about the best way to send explosive materials to Cuba. "Posada said that he knew someone at Aviateca [the former state airline of Guatemala] who could help get the explosives to Cuba," the witness said. Tony Álvarez also declared under oath that he found in his office various materials to make bombs, including calculators, funnels and plastic tubes labeled "Mexican military industries, C-4, dangerous explosives." He added, "I took them outside city limits and buried them for fear of explosive residues." The cross-examination The cross-examination of the witness by Posada Carriles' attorney, Arturo Hernández, was typical of his aggressive and off-base style. "The executions at the Cabaña had already begun when you were in the communist army, hadn't they?" Hernández began. "Yes," answered the witness, not knowing where the question was leading. "500 a week?" snapped Hernández. "I don't believe so," said Álvarez. "5,000 altogether?" asked the Miami attorney. "I don't think so," responded the bewildered witness. "Isn't it true that communist Cuba convicts people in the morning and executes them in the afternoon?" Teresinski had heard enough. He shot up from his chair with an objection. The judge finally tried to rein in Hernández. She ruled his question inappropriate and ordered him to "move on." Attorney Hernández changed the subject, but stayed the course on his tactics. Without any supporting evidence, Hernández launched into a new set of questions premised on the witness having been a drug trafficker as well as a money launderer for the Colombian cartel of Pablo Escobar, whom he mistakenly referred to several times as "Pedro Escobar." Having exhausted that fantastic line of questioning, Hernández changed the subject again and went further afield. This time the premise was that the witness had maintained a bomb-making lab in Guatemala and that the one who had wanted to introduce explosive materials into Cuba had not been Posada Carriles, but Tony Álvarez himself. But the crowning glory of today's brutal cross-examination was the defense attorney's grilling the witness on his current relationship with his common-law wife. "Let's see, Mr. Álvarez, how many wives have you had?" And without waiting to hear the answer, Hernández continued, "To whom were you married in 1997?" "To Ana," said Álvarez. "Was Ana with you in Guatemala?" asked Hernández. "No, we'd been separated for a number of years. She didn't want a divorce. I remain married to her, but I live with another woman who is also named Ana," answered the witness. And with that the attorney who represents Posada Carriles launched the questions he had been saving for the witness all afternoon. "So you were living with somebody else?" "Yes", said the witness. "So you were married to Ana, and yet you decided to live with another woman?" asked Hernández. The 75-year old man felt the punch. You could see it in his face. He flushed, embarrassed and in pain, trying to hold back his tears. Álvarez made an effort to tell the jury that he's not a womanizer—but the defense attorney wouldn't let him. During cross-examination, the attorney calls the shots. He is allowed to attack with impunity and then hide behind his next question. That is how cross-examination works in courtrooms throughout the land. Tears When Hernández was through with the witness, the judge turned him over to the prosecutor for redirect examination. Teresinski knew that the witness had wanted to explain the matter of his relationships, and so he asked, "What is your partner's name?" "Ana Graciela Bonilla," answered Álvarez, still trying to control his tears. "I love her very much. She has cancer. They took out four tumors recently." With these words, the man lost all control. The tears flooded his face, and in a halting voice he said, "The cancer has metastasized. She's very ill—she's very, very bad, very bad." Álvarez went on, "I have a son with her who is 15, but I also have two girls with my wife [also named Ana]. I am in touch with them all the time, even though I don't live with them." Yesterday, Álvarez had explained that his wife had asked that he not divorce her—not an unusual request among Roman Catholic couples of their generation—and he had complied with that request. He lives openly with the woman he loves and who is dying of cancer. Tony Álvarez will leave El Paso without shame. Can the same be said for Posada Carriles' defense attorney? Teresinski asked for a short recess, so the witness could compose himself. At first, the judge did not want to grant it. "We just took a recess less than an hour ago," she told the prosecutor. Teresinski insisted and told her that the witness needed it. "Do you need a few minutes to compose yourself?" Judge Cardone asked the witness. "If you would be so kind, a few minutes would do me good," answered Álvarez, still weeping. The judge granted a recess of 10 minutes, and Tony Álvarez made the long walk from the witness stand to the courtroom door. He drank some water, sat by himself on a hallway chair and collected himself. The incriminating evidence Álvarez returned to face the questions and the inquisitive eyes. Without being able to show the jury the compromising fax from Posada Carriles or the letter that Álvarez had to President Arzú and his Presidential Intelligence Unit, the prosecution managed to establish that Posada Carriles was a key player in a conspiracy to introduce explosives into Cuba less than a week before the murder of Fabio Di Celmo in Havana's Copacabana Hotel. Memory History has not given Tony Álvarez the recognition he deserves. Battered by an unusually challenging life, he lives on a very limited income in South Carolina, far from Cuba, with his common-law wife and their son. Since leaving Cuba in 1961, he has not returned. He says it is because he does not agree with the Revolution. His disagreements with the Cuban Revolution do not translate into terrorism. When he learned of Posada Carriles' connection with the bombings in Havana, he immediately informed the authorities. The jury does not know it, but it was Tony Álvarez who also warned the FBI of the conspiracy to murder President Fidel Castro at the summit on Isla Margarita in Venezuela in 1997. In a federal courtroom, Posada Carriles' attorney tried in vain to assassinate Álvarez's character and destroy his reputation. With no proof, Hernández accused him of being a terrorist, a drug trafficker, a money launderer, a thief and a womanizer. Álvarez responded to it all with dignity. This 10th of March, the fifty-ninth anniversary of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista's violent coup that launched a tyranny based on violence and lies, saw a different sort of result in El Paso. A humble Cuban businessman sacrificed time to be with his ailing wife so that he could risk his life to come El Paso alone, lock eyes with Luis Posada Carriles in federal court and peacefully speak the truth. 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: Las razones de Tony Álvarez por José Pertierra Marzo 10, de 2011. El Paso, TX.- Entró despacio a la sala judicial, con cierta tristeza en sus ojos. Trajo los achaques de la vida encima de sus hombros encorvados, como si cargara un peso enorme. Pero la fiscalía no tuvo que obligar a Tony Álvarez a que viniera a El Paso a brindar testimonio. Lo ofreció por su propia voluntad, igual que lo había hecho hace 15 años cuando le avisó a la inteligencia guatemalteca y al FBI que Luis Posada Carriles estaba involucrado en una conspiración terrorista contra ciertas instalaciones turísticas en Cuba. Hoy Tony Álvarez dejó establecido que, escasos días antes del asesinato de Fabio Di Celmo en La Habana en 1997, Luis Posada Carriles estaba conspirando para enviar materiales explosivos a Cuba desde Guatemala. LOS PARAMETROS DEL TESTIMONIO La Jueza Kathleen Cardone dictaminó ayer que el jurado no podrá enterarse de un fax comprometedor de Posada Carriles que interceptó el testigo. “No contiene suficiente características para satisfacer las reglas de evidencia”, dijo escuetamente la jueza. Esta mañana, el fiscal Jerome Teresinski le informó a la jueza: “Su Señoría, le hemos dicho al testigo que no está permitido que hable del fax”. Así quedaron establecidos desde antemano los limitantes legales del testimonio de Tony Álvarez. Lo que no puede contarle al jurado. Las primeras preguntas fueron fáciles. Solo intentaron ubicar al testigo en la fecha de agosto de 1997, cuando él estaba en Guatemala. Pero cuando Teresinski se acercó al meollo del caso, el interrogatorio se puso delicado. Quiso interrogar al testigo sobre el contenido del fax y de lo que su secretaria le contó que habían estado tramando últimamente Posada Carriles, Pepe Álvarez y José Burgos, pero la jueza le había prohibido al testigo hablar del fax. Solamente le permitían decir lo que él hubiera visto con sus propios ojos. No lo que haya escuchado a los demás decir. Difícil tarea. “¿Cuándo usted regresó de mi viaje, vio a su secretaria?”, le preguntó Teresinski. “Sí”, dijo Álvarez sin saber muy bien hasta donde podía ir con sus respuestas. “¿Cómo interpretó usted el comportamiento que ella le demostró?”, interrogó. “La vi preocupada”, respondió el testigo. “¿Le dio su secretaria alguna información que no estaba relacionada con la empresa?”, preguntó el fiscal. Ahí protestó el abogado defensor. “Esa pregunta no es apropiada, Su Señoría. El fiscal está inapropiadamente guiando el testimonio”. “No guíe el testimonio, Señor Teresinski”, exhortó la jueza al fiscal. Teresinski rectificó e hizo su pregunta de diferente manera, “¿Qué hizo usted después de hablar con su secretaria?” “Hablé con alguien en el gobierno guatemalteco”, respondió Tony Álvarez. “¿Por qué?”, indagó el fiscal. El testigo titubeó y respondió vacilando, “Algunas actividades sospechosas que no tenían que ver con mi empresa”. “¿Qué más hizo usted?”, preguntó. “Le escribí una carta al hizo del Presidente Arzú”, respondió el testigo. “¿Compartió la carta con alguien más?”, inquirió Teresinski. “Así es. Con el Miami Herald y el New York Times”, dijo el testigo. “Seguí la sugerencia de Diego Arzú, el hijo del presidente, y hablé con la inteligencia presidencial”. Quizás Tony Álvarez no lo sabe, pero Luis Posada Carriles estuvo trabajando con la inteligencia presidencial durante el gobierno de Vinicio Cerezo Arévalo a finales de los 80 en Guatemala. La época del Presidente Arzú era otra, pero muchos de los funcionarios seguían siendo los mismos. No en balde la denuncia de Tony Álvarez contra Posada Carriles no prosperó en Guatemala. HEARSAY El fiscal Teresinski tropezó con el impedimento legal estadounidense llamado hearsay, cuando trató de poner en evidencia el contenido de la denuncia que redactó Tony Álvarez. Hearsay es una declaración que un testigo ha escuchado de otra persona. Las reglas del litigio prohíben que el testigo repita en corte, como si fueran ciertas, las declaraciones de terceras personas. Hay excepciones, pero esa es la regla. La jurisprudencia estadounidense desestima el hearsay como mero rumor. Teresinski le preguntó al testigo, “¿Recuerda usted el contenido de la carta?” El abogado Hernández inmediatamente protestó: “¡Hearsay!”, y la jueza impidió que el testigo contara del contenido, aunque le permitió decir que lo recordaba. “¿Recuerda usted lo que le dijo Posada Carriles a Pepe Álvarez en su oficina…?” “¡Hearsay!”, volvió a protestar el abogado defensor, y volvió la jueza a reprimir la respuesta. Frustrado por el corsé legalista, Teresinski sacó la copia de la carta que Tony Álvarez había redactado para el hijo del Presidente Arzú y se la enseñó al testigo —aunque no al jurado. Le pidió al testigo que la leyera. Al terminar su lectura, solicitó que virara la carta al revés en el escritorio. “Sin mirar ahora a la carta, ¿puede usted recordar que conversaciones dice la carta que usted escuchó?”, le preguntó Teresinski. El chicano en la tribuna del jurado miró perplejo hacia su izquierda al afroestadounidense, quien también parecía desorientado. Era evidente que no entendían lo que estaba tratando de preguntar el fiscal, ni tampoco lo que quería el testigo decir. Se preguntarían: ¿pero qué tiene que ver la secretaria con todo esto? ¿Qué actividades sospechosas? ¿Por qué no las cuenta? ¿A qué funcionario del gobierno guatemalteco fue a ver Tony Álvarez? ¿Qué le contó al funcionario y qué le respondió aquel? ¿Por qué no podemos leer la carta? ¿No sería mejor que el testigo leyera la carta en vez de tratar de recordar su contenido? El jurado no lo sabe, pero —antes de que comenzara la tanda judicial esta mañana— la Jueza Cardone había dictaminado que prohibía que la fiscalía mostrara la carta. “Partes de la carta se pueden contar, pero las otras partes son hearsay”, había dicho la jueza. “¿Qué hizo usted después de haber escrito la carta?”, preguntó Teresinski. Era muy difícil ver a Tony Álvarez en el estrado, porque es un hombre muy pequeño y la pantalla del monitor le tapaba la cara. La gorda de la primera fila de la tribuna del jurado le señaló con sus manos al fiscal que le bajaran la pantalla que ocultaba al testigo. Teresinski le llamó la atención al secretario de la corte, quien se le acercó al testigo para acomodar la pantalla de tal manera que por primera vez el jurado pudo observar los gestos del declarante. LAS COSAS QUE ESCUCHÓ EL TESTIGO “Instalé un intercomunicador subrepticio entre la oficina de Pepe Álvarez y la mía”, declaró el testigo. “Así fue que escuché a Posada Carriles hablar de dinero”. Después de una conversación privada en sidebar entre el fiscal y el abogado defensor, la Jueza Cardone dictaminó que el testigo puede contar sobre las cosas que él escuchó a Posada Carriles, Pepe Álvarez y José Burgos decir. “Son parte de la misma conspiración”, dijo la jueza, “y por eso sus declaraciones son evidencia y están exentas de las limitaciones excluyentes de hearsay”. Ahora sí. Al fin pudo contar Tony Álvarez algo sustancioso sobre el caso. “¿Cómo supo usted que la voz que escuchó a través del intercomunicador era la de Posada Carriles?”, le preguntó Teresinski. El testigo respondió en seguida: “Porque él tiene una manera de hablar muy peculiar”, refiriéndose al problema en el habla que tiene Posada Carriles desde que perdió parte de la lengua en un atentado que le hicieron en Guatemala en 1990. La carta seguía prohibida como evidencia, pero la jueza permitió que el testigo la mirara “para refrescar su memoria”. En una secuencia surrealista, Tony Álvarez miraba la carta, leía en voz bajita, escondía la carta, y entonces declaraba sin mirar la carta nuevamente. Y así varias veces. De esa manera, Tony Álvarez le contó al jurado que escuchó a Posada Carriles, Pepe Álvarez y José Burgos conversar sobre la mejor manera de enviar materiales explosivos a Cuba. “El acusado dijo que conocía a alguien en Aviateca (la compañía aérea guatemalteca), quien pudiera ayudar a colar los explosiones en Cuba”, declaró el testigo. Tony Álvarez declaró que encontró, en su oficina, varios artefactos para construir bombas: calculadoras, embudos, tubos plásticos que decía “industrias militares mexicanas, C-4, explosivos peligrosos”. Y añadió: “Los saqué fuera de la ciudad y los enterré, por temor a los residuos de los explosivos”. EL CONTRA INTERROGATORIO El contra-interrogatorio del abogado de Posada Carriles fue típico del estilo del abogado defensor, Arturo Hernández. Un estilo que pudiéramos bautizar jernandeciano. “¿Ya habían comenzado las ejecuciones en la Cabaña, cuando usted estaba en el ejército comunista?”, disparó Hernández. “Sí”, respondió el testigo —sin saber las preguntas que le esperaban. “¿500 a la semana?”, fulminó. “No lo creo”, dijo Tony Álvarez. “¿5 000 en total”? arrojó el abogado miamense. “No lo creo”, repitió el testigo. Hernández remató su línea de ataque contra el testigo con: “¿No es cierto que la Cuba comunista enjuicia al acusado por la mañana y lo ejecuta por la tarde?” El fiscal protestó por la pregunta, y la jueza se acordó que de vez en cuando debería controlar al abogado de Miami. Le dijo que su pregunta era inapropiada. “Move on”, le ordenó. Que cambie el tema. Sin pruebas, Hernández insinuó que Tony Álvarez es un narcotraficante que también acostumbraba a lavarle el dinero al cartel de Pablo Escobar, quien el abogado equivocadamente llamó varias veces Pedro Escobar. El interrogatorio jernandeciano continuó con unas acusaciones al testigo que éste tenía un laboratorio para hacer bombas en Guatemala, y que él había sido el que quería introducir los materiales explosivos en Cuba. Pero el colmo fue la manera en que abogado se metió con la relación que mantiene el testigo con su mujer. “Vamos a ver, Sr. Álvarez, ¿cuántas esposas ha tenido usted?” Sin esperar la respuesta, Hernández le preguntó, ¿Con quién estaba casado usted en el 97?” “Con Ana”, dijo Tony Álvarez. Las dos últimas parejas del testigo se llaman Ana. “¿Estaba Ana con usted en Guatemala”?, interrogó. “No, estábamos separados por unos años. Ella nunca quiso que me divorciara. Sigo casado con ella”, respondió el testigo. Y aquí viene la acusación de inmoralidad que le lanzó sin piedad al testigo el abogado que representa a Luis Posada Carriles: “¿Entonces usted estaba viviendo con otra mujer, estando todavía casado con Ana”? El empresario de 75 años sintió el zarpazo. Se le vio en la cara. Enrojeció de vergüenza y dolor. Trató de explicarle al jurado que es un hombre decente, pero no lo dejó el abogado. El interrogador es el que manda, puede atacar impunemente, y después esconderse. Así funciona el arte del contra-interrogatorio en los tribunales de los Estados Unidos. LAGRIMAS Cuando terminó Hernández de interrogar a Tony Álvarez, le tocó nuevamente el turno al fiscal. Este sabía que el testigo había querido explicar lo de su relación matrimonial y Teresinski le preguntó: “¿Cómo se llama su pareja”? “Ana Graciela Bonilla”, respondió el testigo tratando de controlar sus lágrimas. “La quiero mucho, tiene cáncer, le sacaron cuatro tumores hace poco”. Con esas palabras se descontroló el hombre. Las lágrimas corrían como un aguacero, y con su voz entrecortada siguió explicando: “El cáncer ha hecho metástasis. Está muy enferma —muy muy malita, muy malita.” Teresinski pidió un pequeño receso. La jueza al principio no quería. “Hace menos de una hora que tomamos un receso”, le dijo al fiscal. Teresinski insistió y le dijo que el testigo lo necesitaba. “¿Usted necesita unos minutos para componerse?”, le preguntó la Jueza Cardone al testigo. “Si usted fuera tan amable, unos pocos minutos me vendrían bien”, le respondió aún llorando Tony Álvarez. La jueza le concedió un receso de 10 minutos y el testigo volvió a hacer el largo recorrido desde el estrado hasta la puerta de la sala judicial. LA PRUEBA INCULPATORIA Tony Álvarez se compuso en el pasillo. Cogió fuerza y regresó para enfrentarse nuevamente a las preguntas. Terminó sus declaraciones afirmando: “Yo escuché a través del intercomunicador en agosto de 1997 la voz de Posada Carriles conversando con José Burgos y Pepe Álvarez. Lo escuché decir que conocía a un mecánico de Aviateca que podía ayudar a introducir materiales explosivos en Cuba”. Sin poder enseñarle al jurado el fax comprometedor de Posada Carriles o la carta que Tony Álvarez le envió al hijo del Presidente Arzú, la fiscalía logró establecerle al jurado que Luis Posada Carriles fue una pieza clave de una conspiración para introducir explosivos a Cuba, menos de una semana antes del asesinato de Fabio Di Celmo en el Hotel Copacabana de La Habana. LA MEMORIA A Tony Álvarez no le han dado el reconocimiento que merece. Machucado por los leñazos de la vida, vive de muy pocos recursos lejos de Cuba —en Carolina del Sur— con su mujer y su hijo. Después de haber salido del país en 1961, no ha regresado. Dice que es porque discrepa con la Revolución. Sin embargo, no comulga con el terrorismo. Tuvo el coraje de arriesgar su vida para denunciar el vínculo de Posada Carriles en la cadena de explosiones en La Habana. El jurado no lo sabe, pero fue Tony Álvarez quien advirtió del plan para asesinar al Presidente Fidel Castro en la cumbre de la Isla Margarita de Venezuela en 1997. Ante el tribunal federal, el abogado de Posada Carriles trató de difamarlo y desacreditar su reputación. Sin pruebas, lo acusó de terrorista, narcotraficante, ladrón y mujeriego. Álvarez respondió a todas las preguntas con altura. Este 10 de marzo, aniversario del golpe militar de Fulgencio Batista, un modesto empresario cubano arriesgó su vida, fijó su mirada en la de Luis Posada Carriles ante un tribunal federal y dijo la verdad. 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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