Posada may be freed, Miami-bound
by Jay Weaver
April 10, 2007
Reprinted from The Miami Herald
Cuban exile militant Luis Posada Carriles took one step closer Tuesday to moving to Miami on a $350,000 bond as he awaits trial on fraud charges in a Texas federal court.
Posada's release from a jail in New Mexico near the Texas border could be imminent, thanks to a new ruling by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone. She rejected the U.S. government's request to freeze her decision on Posada's bond until Friday, when Justice Department lawyers planned to decide on an appeal.
In a separate bid, prosecutors have sought to increase Posada's bond, saying the former covert CIA operative could flee the country to evade his May 11 trial if his bond is not set higher. Cardone has not ruled on that request.
Meanwhile, Posada's Miami lawyer, Arturo Hernandez, could seek to post his client's bond today.
''We're going to proceed in accordance with the court's order,'' Hernandez said.
A Justice Department spokesman declined to say what prosecutors might do at this point.
The legal maneuvering by Justice's counterterrorism lawyers reveals their tough stand to keep the controversial exile figure behind bars. Posada faces trial on May 11 on charges of lying at his naturalization hearing and on an official application about how he entered the country illegally.
If the Justice Department fails to block Posada's bond, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could step in to detain him until trial because the Cuban-born Venezuelan citizen faces a deportation order. However, an immigration judge has already ruled that he cannot be sent back to Cuba or Venezuela because he could be tortured in those countries.
Posada has claimed he came to America across the Mexico-Texas border in March 2005. Federal authorities, relying on an FBI informant, have accused Posada of arriving on a shrimp boat manned by a group of Miami exiles. The informant, Gilberto Abascal, has said he was on the vessel that brought Posada here.
If the judge's bond ruling stands, Posada can post the $350,000 bail and live with his wife at her home in Miami under 24-hour house confinement, leaving only for doctors' appointments or to meet with his attorney. Both family members and supporters have pledged assets to secure his bond.
Posada, described as ''frail'' by the judge in El Paso, would be subject to electronic monitoring and not be allowed to contact codefendants or witnesses.
Cardone's ruling was the first major legal victory for the former CIA operative since immigration agents detained him in May 2005 in Miami-Dade County, accusing him of being in the country illegally. He was flown to an immigration detention facility in El Paso, but is now being held in a New Mexico jail near the Texas border.
Posada's presence in the United States has stirred controversy for the federal government.
The daring anti-Castro militant has been accused of -- but not charged with -- masterminding tourist site bombings in Havana that killed an Italian in 1997. A federal grand jury is investigating that case.
Posada had also escaped from prison in Venezuela after his arrest in connection with the 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner that killed 73. He is wanted by Venezuelan authorities.
But the federal judge in Texas said all that was in the past, noting the current fraud charges against Posada don't involve acts of violence.
Earlier article...
U.S. fights Posada release
by Jay Weaver
April 10, 2007
Reprinted from The Miami Herald
Stung by defeat, the U.S. government launched a counteroffensive Monday to prevent the court-ordered release of Cuban exile militant Luis Posada Carriles to Miami before his trial on fraud charges in federal court in Texas.
Justice Department lawyers urged U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone to reconsider her decision on Friday to grant Posada a $350,000 bond and to hold a hearing on the collateral pledged by supporters to secure his bail.
Lawyers in Justice's counterterrorism division pressed the judge to delay her bond decision until that hearing, which could focus on a $1.5 million Coral Way office building owned by a Posada supporter, Judith Garcia Prado. In a court filing, she pledged the property on 1378 SW 22nd St. for his bond, which is set far lower than the building's value.
''The court's order thus waters down the bond conditions, and presents no real disincentive to flee,'' wrote Justice Department attorneys John W. Van Lonkhuyzen and Paul Ahern in a 10-page filing.
The prosecutors argued that the judge's current bond would not guarantee Posada's appearance at a May 11 trial, where he faces charges of lying at a naturalization hearing and on an official application about how he sneaked into the country. Posada has claimed he crossed the Mexico-Texas border two years ago, but government prosecutors say he arrived on a boat manned by Cuban exiles.
Posada's defense lawyers called the government's latest move desperate.
''They are grabbing at straws,'' said Miami attorney Arturo Hernandez. ``It is an act of desperation by the government. It's just another attempt to keep him in jail.''
If the judge's ruling stands, Posada can post the $350,000 bond and live with his wife at her home in Miami under 24-hour house confinement, leaving only for doctors' appointments or to meet with his attorney. Posada also would be subject to electronic monitoring and not be allowed to contact codefendants or witnesses.
Cardone's ruling in El Paso was the first major legal victory for the former CIA operative since immigration agents detained him in May 2005 in Miami-Dade County, accusing him of being in the country illegally. He was flown to an immigration detention facility in El Paso, but is now being held in a New Mexico jail near the Texas border.
Cardone noted that even if Posada were the daring covert operative of legend, accused of masterminding tourist site bombings in Havana that killed an Italian in 1997 -- and even if he did escape from prison in Venezuela after his arrest in connection with the 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner that killed 73 -- all that was in the past.
She noted that the criminal charges against Posada, now 79 and ''frail,'' did not involve acts of violence.
Prosecutors initially asked the judge to delay Posada's release until Friday, when they could file an appeal. She has yet to rule.
| 
