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U.S. indicts Cuban exile militant Luis Posada Carriles, links him to tourist bombings A federal grand jury in Texas has linked Cuban exile militant Luis Posada Carriles, viewed as a hero by some exiles, to tourist-site bombings in Cuba in 1997. by Alfonso Chardy A federal grand jury handed up a new indictment against Luis Posada Carriles, for the first time linking the Cuban exile militant in a U.S. legal proceeding to a series of 1997 tourist-site bombings in Cuba that killed an Italian national. The superseding indictment from the grand jury in El Paso does not charge Posada, 81, with planting the bombs or plotting the bombings but with lying in an immigration court about his role in the attacks at hotels, bars and restaurants in the Havana area. The perjury counts were added to the previous indictment that accused Posada of lying in his citizenship application about how he got into the United States. Another new charge is obstruction of a U.S. investigation into ``international terrorism.''
The new charges almost certainly will dismay Posada's supporters in the Cuban exile community who view the exile militant as a hero in the continuing struggle against the Cuban regime. Posada could not be reached for comment, but his Miami attorney, Arturo V. Hernandez, said his client is innocent. ''This superseding indictment is under analysis, and once we complete that review my client intends to plead not guilty to the additional counts,'' Hernandez said in a telephone interview. The FBI office in Miami had been gathering evidence on the bombing, which killed Italian national Fabio di Celmo at the Copacabana Hotel in Havana. Agents had traveled to the Cuban capital to investigate Posada's connection to the attacks. Agents talked to witnesses to the bombings, reviewed Cuba's forensic evidence and visited the sites where the bombs exploded. Also, the FBI compiled a document alleging a conspiracy involving Posada as mastermind of the bombings. That document claimed Posada hid plastic explosives in shampoo bottles and shoes to be smuggled into Cuba weeks before the Sept. 4, 1997, bombing. The Cuban government has claimed that one of two Salvadoran nationals convicted in Havana of the bombings, Raul Ernesto Cruz Leon, placed the bomb that killed the Italian and that Cruz Leon was a Posada accomplice. Cruz Leon is mentioned in Wednesday's superseding indictment. In count two for perjury, the grand jury said that Posada lied to an immigration judge when asked if he had arranged for Cruz Leon to carry explosives into Cuba in 1997. ''I have never seen nor met Raul Cruz, and I have not done any arrangement to send him to another place,'' Posada replied. The new indictment Wednesday said that Posada's assertion was false because the ``defendant had arranged to send and sent an individual named Raul Cruz Leon to Cuba to transport and carry explosives into Cuba to carry out said bombings in 1997.'' The new indictment also accused Posada of lying when he was asked in immigration court if he had been involved in the attacks. ''Well, were you involved in soliciting other individuals to carry out the bombing in, the bombings in Cuba?'' Posada was asked in court by an immigration trial attorney. ''No,'' he answered. He was then asked how he could reconcile that denial with the interview he gave The New York Times in 1998 in which he was quoted as claiming responsibility for the bombings. Posada testified that The New York Times probably quoted him accurately, but that what he said was wrong because his English was poor. © 2009 Miami Herald Media Company. All Rights Reserved. Cuban militant Posada indicted on new charges by Alicia A. Caldwell EL PASO, Texas (AP) — An anti-Castro Cuban militant was accused Wednesday in a federal indictment of lying about his involvement in a series of 1997 bombings that targeted tourist spots in Cuba. Luis Posada Carriles, a former CIA operative and U.S. Army soldier, was indicted on 11 counts, including perjury and obstruction of a federal proceeding. The 81-year-old militant had previously been indicted on six counts, including immigration fraud and lying to federal authorities in a bid to become a naturalized U.S. citizen. The indictment is the first time Posada has been accused in the United States of being involved in the bombings. Cuban authorities have long accused him of orchestrating the bombings as well as a deadly 1976 bombing of a Cuban jetliner. Felipe Millan, Posada's El Paso lawyer, said Posada denies the charges. "He's innocent ... and looks forward to having his day in court," Millan told The Associated Press. Efforts to reach the Cuban Interest Section, which Havana has in Washington, D.C., in place of an embassy, were unsuccessful Wednesday evening. The Cuban government did not immediately comment on the indictment, which came after offices closed for the day. The evening news broadcast on state television did not mention it. Posada was originally indicted in January 2007. At the time, prosecutors alleged that he lied to investigators about having used an alias and about how he entered the United States in the spring of 2005. Posada claims he sneaked across the border from Mexico near Brownsville, Texas, but prosecutors say he arrived in Miami on a boat from Mexico. The new indictment charges that Posada, who is wanted in Venezuela and Cuba in the airline bombing, lied about being involving in "soliciting other individuals to carry out ... bombings in Cuba." Prosecutors allege he also lied about asking a man named Raul Cruz Leon to take into Cuba explosives used in the 1997 bombings of Havana hotels that they say were aimed at hurting Cuban tourism. Cruz was sentenced to death for the bombings, which killed an Italian tourist. Posada previously admitted involvement in the hotel bombings in published interviews, saying that the bombs were intended only to "break windows and cause minor damage" and that the death of tourist Fabio di Celmo was "bad luck." He later recanted his involvement. Posada, a Cuban native and naturalized Venezuelan citizen, denied knowing Cruz or having anything to do with those bombings during a hearing in El Paso in 2005. He was arrested on immigration charges in Miami in 2005. He was held at an immigration jail in El Paso until being indicted in the fraud case. An immigration judge in El Paso ordered that Posada should be deported in 2005, but said the ailing militant could not be sent to Cuba or Venezuela because of fears he could be tortured. Posada has been freed on bond, living with his family in Florida, since 2007. No trial date has been set. The fraud case against Posada was initially thrown out by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone in El Paso, who said the government manipulated Posada's naturalization interview. Cardone ruled that the government's Spanish-to-English translation of the April 2006 interview was "so inaccurate as to render it unreliable as evidence of defendant's actual statement." The judge also agreed with Posada's lawyers that the naturalization interview had been a pretext for a criminal investigation. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans reversed Cardone's ruling last year and earlier this year the U.S. Supreme Court turned down Posada's request to have the case dismissed based on government trickery. Posada initially sought asylum in the U.S. before withdrawing that application and asking to become a naturalized citizen. Associated Press writers Will Lester in Washington and Anita Snow in Havana contributed to this report. Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. New charges link former CIA operative and U.S. Army soldier to 1997 bombings in Cuba by Diana Washington Valdez EL PASO -- Luis Posada Carriles, a former CIA operative and U.S. Army soldier, was accused Wednesday of new federal charges related to 1997 bombings that targeted tourist areas in Cuba. Posada, 81, was indicted on 11 counts, including perjury and obstruction of a federal proceeding. The indictment is the first time U.S. authorities have accused Posada of being involved in the 1997 bombings. A hearing date for the new charges has not been set. Felipe Millan, Posada's lawyer in El Paso, said Posada is innocent. "Mr. Posada is innocent of these charges," Millan told The Associated Press. "He's innocent ... and looks forward to having his day in court." The new indictment charges Posada lied about being involved in "soliciting other individuals to carry out bombings in Cuba." He was arrested on immigration charges in Miami in 2005, and was held at an immigration detention center in El Paso until his indictment on immigration fraud charges and charges of lying to federal authorities in a bid to become a naturalized U.S. citizen. An immigration judge in El Paso ordered Posada deported in 2005, but also said he should not be sent to Cuba or Venezuela because of fears he could be tortured. Posada, who was freed on bond, has been living with his family in Florida. The immigration fraud case against Posada was initially thrown out by El Paso U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone, who said the government had manipulated Posada's naturalization interview. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans reversed Cardone's ruling last year, and earlier this year the U.S. Supreme Court turned down Posada's request to have the case dismissed based on government trickery. Venezuela and Panama are also interested in Posada Venezuela sought Posada's extradition in connection with the 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner that killed 73 people. Panama's government also wants him in connection with a plot in 2000 to kill Fidel Castro during Castro's visit to that country. Posada has denied any wrongdoing in either the 1976 bombing or 2000 plot against Castro. Posada accused in relation to the attacks in Havana by Jean-Guy Allard IN a surprising change of strategy, Washington district attorneys responsible for the case against Luis Posada Carriles have increased the number of charges brought against the international terrorist in El Paso, Texas, with respect to false statements in relation to the campaign of attacks that he unleashed in Havana in 1997. According to the AP, Posada is now charged with having lied about his involvement "in seeking individuals to carry out attacks in Cuba." More specifically, the district attorneys specified that he failed to tell the truth about having asked Salvadorian mercenary Raúl Cruz León to take explosives to the island for attacks designed to damaging tourist activity. One of the acts of terrorism perpetrated by Cruz León, contracted by Posada in El Salvador, resulted in the death of Italian tourist Fabio di Celmo. Posada has admitted to his involvement in these crimes in interviews published in the United States. With a lengthy record in terrorism, including the mid-flight destruction of a Cuban civilian aircraft that caused the death of all 73 people on board, Posada now faces 11 charges, once again appearing before Federal Judge Kathleen Cardone, who previously released him. The change of strategy on the part of the district attorneys, headed by John W. Van Lonkhuyzen, who belong to the Anti-Terrorist Section of the Justice Department – now directed by Eric Holder – would seems to correspond to a review of the case given repeated extradition applications by the Venezuelan government, in the run up to the Americas Summit, where the issue will inevitably be raised. However, the District Attorney’s Office has limited itself to additional charges perjury and obstruction against the most famous terrorist in the hemisphere, who worked for the CIA for more than 25 years, besides having served in the U.S. Armed Forces. The new charges will be filed today in the El Paso Court, in a hearing where Posada will supposedly have to be present. The killer torturer, who is of Cuban origin but was naturalized in Venezuela, has been at liberty since May 2007, after the same judge, Kathleen Cardone, rejected the immigration charges brought by the Justice Department of former U.S. president George W. Bush. That ruling was overturned by the New Orleans 5th Circuit Court of Appeal, which ordered a retrial. Ex-CIA operative tied to Cuba bombings: jury by Tom Brown MIAMI (Reuters) – A federal grand jury has accused anti-Castro Cuban exile and former CIA operative Luis Posada Carriles of lying to U.S. authorities about his role in bomb attacks against tourist sites in Cuba in 1997. In an indictment filed against Posada by the grand jury in El Paso, Texas, on Wednesday, he is accused of seeking to "obstruct and impede" the work of the U.S. government by lying during an immigration interview about his role in the attacks. An Italian man was killed in the 1997 bomb blasts in Cuba in a case the indictment highlights as an "offense involving international terrorism." The arraignment of Posada, who has a long history of violent opposition to former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, has been set for April 17 and jury selection for a trial is expected to begin on August 10. Posada is wanted in both Cuba and Venezuela, where he is accused of masterminding the 1976 suitcase bombing of a Cuban airliner that killed 73 people. That bombing occurred while Posada, a naturalized Venezuelan, lived in the oil-rich South American nation. The latest indictment marks the first time since Posada arrived in the United States seeking asylum in March 2005 that he has been linked in a court proceeding to the Cuba bombings which killed Italian national Fabio di Celmo. Posada's Miami-based attorney Arturo Hernandez could not be reached for immediate comment. But a front-page story in Thursday's edition of Cuba's Communist Party newspaper Granma called the indictment "a surprising change of strategy" by U.S. prosecutors. It came after "repeated requests for (Posada's) extradition by the government of Venezuela," the newspaper said, adding that it also preceded a regional Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago next week "where the topic will inevitably be mentioned." Though it branded Posada "the most famous terrorist of the hemisphere," Granma noted that the U.S. charges against him had been limited to perjury and obstruction. U.S. President Barack Obama will attend the Trinidad summit and calls for a normalization of U.S.-Cuba ties are expected to figure prominently there. Cuba had repeatedly accused Obama's predecessor, former President George W. Bush, of coddling Posada because of his CIA past and his support in the hard-line U.S. Cuban exile community where many regard him as a hero. Wednesday's indictment does not charge Posada, 81, with planting the Cuba bombs but with lying to an immigration court about his alleged behind-the-scenes role in the attacks at hotels, bars and restaurants in the Havana area. The Cuban government has claimed that one of two Salvadoran nationals convicted in Havana of the bombings, Raul Ernesto Cruz Leon, placed the bomb that killed the Italian and charged that Cruz Leon was a Posada accomplice. The Texas grand jury said Posada lied to an immigration judge when asked if he had arranged for Cruz Leon to carry explosives into Cuba. "(The) defendant had been involved in soliciting other individuals to carry out said bombings in Cuba," the indictment read. After entering the United States illegally in 2005, Posada was subsequently indicted on seven immigration fraud charges accusing of him of lying to immigration authorities, but a U.S. judge threw out those charges in May 2007. Earlier, Posada was jailed in Panama for plotting to kill Castro during an Ibero-American summit in 2000, but was pardoned by outgoing President Mireya Moscoso in 2004. He has lived in the Miami area with his wife since he was released from jail April 2007 on bail totaling $350,000.
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Acusación vincula a Posada Carriles con atentados en La Habana por Alfonso Chardy El encausamiento presentado en El Paso, Texas, no acusa al militante exiliado, de 81 años, de colocar las bombas o de planear los atentados, sino de mentir en una corte de inmigración acerca de su papel en los ataques a hoteles, bares y restaurantes en La Habana. Las acusaciones de perjurio se añadieron a un cargo anterior de haber mentido en su solicitud de ciudadanía sobre cómo entró a Estados Unidos. Otro cargo nuevo es el de obstrucción de una investigación federal sobre "terrorismo internacional''. La acusación marca la primera vez, desde la llegada de Posada a EEUU en busca de asilo, en marzo del 2005, que el gobierno afirma que estuvo involucrado en los atentados explosivos en Cuba. Un jurado de instrucción federal en Nueva Jersey ha estado investigando la supuesta participación de Posada en la recaudación de fondos entre los exilados cubanos de Union City para la campaña de atentados explosivos, pero no le han presentado cargos. Es muy probable que los nuevos cargos consternarán a los partidarios de Posada en el exilio cubano, donde el militante es considerado un héroe en la lucha contra el régimen cubano. Posada no pudo ser contactado para que comentara, pero su abogado en Miami, Arturo V. Hernández, afirmó que su cliente era inocente. "Este encausamiento nuevo está siendo analizada, y una vez que terminemos con esa revisión mi cliente se propone declararse inocente de los cargos adicionales'', señaló Hernández en una entrevista telefónica. La oficina del FBI en Miami había estado reuniendo evidencia sobre los atentados con explosivos, que causaron la muerte del italiano Fabio di Celmo en el Hotel Copacabana de La Habana. Agentes del FBI habían viajado a la capital cubana para investigar la conexión de Posada con los ataques. Los agentes hablaron con testigos de los atentados, revisaron evidencia forense cubana y visitaron los lugares en que explotaron las bombas. Además, el FBI recopiló información según la cual hubo una conspiración en la que Posada fue el cerebro de los atentados. El documento afirma que Posada había escondido explosivos en botellas de champú y en zapatos para entrarlos de contrabando a Cuba, antes de los atentados del 4 de septiembre de 1997. El gobierno cubano ha afirmado que Raul Ernesto Cruz León, uno de los dos salvadoreños condenados en La Habana por las explosiones, colocó la bomba que mató al italiano y que Cruz León era cómplice de Posada. Cruz León es mencionado en el encausamiento de ayer. En el segundo cargo de perjurio, el gran jurado indicó que Posada mintió a un juez de inmigración cuando le preguntó si él había coordinado que Cruz León entrara explosivos a Cuba en 1997. "Yo nunca he visto o me he encontrado con Raúl Cruz, y yo no he organizado nada para enviarlo a otro lugar'', respondió Posada. El encausamiento indica que la afirmación de Posada fue falsa porque "el acusado organizó el envío y mandó a un individuo llamado Raúl Cruz León a Cuba para llevar explosivos a Cuba y ejecutar dichos atentados explosivos en 1997''. Afirma asimismo que Posada mintió cuando se le preguntó en la corte de inmigración si había estado involucrado en los ataques. "¿Estuvo usted involucrado en el pedido a otros individuos que llevaran a cabo los atentados en Cuba?", le preguntó a Posada un abogado de inmigración en la corte. "No'', contestó. Se le preguntó entonces cómo podía conciliar su negativa con la entrevista que dio a The New York Times en 1998, en la cual fue citado declarándose responsable de esos atentados. Posada testificó que probablemente The New York Times lo citó correctamente, pero que lo que él había dicho estaba mal porque su inglés no era bueno. Acusan a Posada en relación con los atentados de La Habana por Jean-Guy Allard En un cambio de estrategia sorpresivo, los fiscales de Washington encargados del caso de Luis Posada Carriles han ampliado los cargos presentados en El Paso, Texas, contra el terrorista internacional, respecto a sus falsas declaraciones en relación con la campaña de atentados que desencadenó en La Habana en 1997. Según la agencia de prensa AP, se acusa ahora a Posada de haber mentido acerca de su implicación "en solicitar individuos¼ para realizar atentados en Cuba". De manera más específica, los procuradores del ministerio público precisan que no dijo la verdad acerca de que solicitó al mercenario salvadoreño Raúl Cruz León llevar explosivos a la Isla para los atentados destinados a dañar la actividad turística. Una de las acciones terroristas provocadas por Cruz León, contratado en El Salvador por Posada, causó la muerte del joven turista italiano Fabio di Celmo. Posada ha confesado su implicación en estos crímenes en entrevistas publicadas en Estados Unidos. Con una interminable trayectoria terrorista que incluye la destrucción en pleno vuelo de un avión civil cubano que causó la muerte de las 73 personas que viajaban en la nave, Posada tendrá ahora que enfrentar 11 cargos, siempre ante esta jueza Kathleen Cardone que lo liberó. El cambio de estrategia de los fiscales federales, encabezados por John W. Van Lonkhuyzen, que pertenecen a la sección antiterrorista del Departamento de Justicia —ahora dirigido por Eric Holder— parece corresponder a una revisión de estrategia ante las repetidas solicitudes de extradición presentadas por el Gobierno de Venezuela, a unos días de la Cumbre de las Américas, donde el tema será inevitablemente mencionado. Sin embargo, la Fiscalía Federal se limita a cargos adicionales de perjurio y obstrucción contra el más famoso terrorista del hemisferio que trabajó durante más de 25 años para la CIA, además de haber sido militar con las fuerzas armadas norteamericanas. Los nuevos cargos serán presentados hoy ante el tribunal de El Paso, en una vista donde Posada tendrá, supuestamente, que estar presente. El asesino torturador de origen cubano naturalizado venezolano, está en libertad desde mayo del 2007 después de que esta misma jueza Kathleen Cardone desestimó los cargos migratorios presentados por el Departamento de Justicia de la administración Bush. Este fallo fue revocado en el 2008 por el Tribunal de Apelaciones del Quinto Circuito de Nueva Orleans, que ordenó un nuevo juicio.
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The indictment marks the first time since Posada arrived in the United States seeking asylum in March 2005 that the government has said he was involved in the Cuba bombings. A federal grand jury in New Jersey had been investigating Posada's alleged involvement in raising money for the bombing campaign among Cuban exiles in Union City, but no charges have been handed up there.
Un jurado de instrucción federal dio curso a un nuevo encausamiento contra Luis Posada Carriles, en el que lo vincula por primera vez, mediante un proceso legal en Estados Unidos, a atentados con explosivos contra lugares turísticos en Cuba, que resultaron en la muerte de un turista italiano.