Venezuela Says U.S. 'Hypocritical' With Terrorism

Venezuela said the U.S. government is "hypocritical'' in its fight against terrorism after a U.S. judge in Texas blocked extradition of terror suspect Luis Posada Carriles.

Venezuelan Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel said the decision by immigration Judge William Lee Abbott to bar Posada Carriles's extradition to Venezuela or Cuba to face charges he planned the 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner was indicative of U.S. double standards. The downing of the plane killed 73 people.

"The U.S. government is a hypocrite in its fight against terrorism,'' Rangel told reporters today outside congress. "The U.S. is manipulating justice.''

Venezuela formally asked in June that Posada Carriles, who is in U.S. custody on unrelated immigration charges, be extradited. Abbott yesterday said there was no guarantee that Posada Carriles wouldn't be tortured if he was sent to Cuba or Venezuela.

"Luis Posada Carriles is the Osama Bin Laden of Latin America,'' Venezuelan Ambassador to the U.S. Bernardo Alvarez said in a statement. "The government must present our extradition request to the appropriate federal judge with no further delay. The victims of Posada's crime have waited long enough.''

President Hugo Chavez said on May 22 that he may cut diplomatic ties with the U.S. unless Posada Carriles is turned over to Venezuela to face trial. Posada Carriles was detained on May 17 for illegally entering the U.S.

Venezuela, the world's fifth-largest oil exporter, sends two-thirds of its crude exports to the U.S.