U.S. Government Charade Will Result in Denial of Posada Extradition

He’s Here to Stay and May Soon Be Free


The hearing to determine whether or not Luis Posada Carriles will be extradited to Venezuela took an expected, but still dramatic, turn today . . .

The hearing to determine whether or not Luis Posada Carriles will be extradited to Venezuela took an expected, but still dramatic, turn today. Posada, a terrorist trained and supported by the United States during the Cold War era to harass and kill Leftists in Central and South America, fled to Miami after release from a Panamanian prison in November, 2004. Posada’s personal and professional goal has always been the assassination of President Fidel Castro, and his Panamanian conviction is connected to the possession of 40 pounds of plastic explosives in an attempt on Castro’s life during a state visit to Panama in 2000.

Now 77 years of age, and showing signs of ill health, Posada is in Untied States custody for entering the country illegally. In an August 30th hearing, Posada produced Joaquín Fernando Chaffardet Ramos as a witness to claim that if returned to Venezuela, Posada would be subjected to torture. The hearing today was scheduled to provide the U.S. Government with an opportunity to rebut the evidence of Chaffardet and to show that Posada would most likely not be subjected to torture by the government of President Hugo Chávez. But the United States refused to put on rebuttal evidence, handing Posada exactly what he wanted; a life in the United States.