More terrorists loose in the U.S.

Listening to this talk by Gloria La Riva on events in Venezuela opened my eyes to the fact that there are terrorists other than Luis Posada Carriles whom the U.S. is refusing to extradite to Venezuela to be tried. The case is discussed at length here but here's a summary: in February 2003, the Colombian and Spanish consulates in Caracas were bombed. These bombings were viewed as an attempt at inciting further political instability in a country that was in the midst of an oil industry shutdown meant to topple Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. The two suspects in the case, Jose Antonio Colina and German Rodolfo Varela, fled (naturally) to Miami. They were eventually arrested, just like Posada, on immigration charges, and spent years in detention. In early May, however, they were released from detention, and are now free (on probation) to roam the streets of Miami (or elsewhere).

Using the same specious claim as in the Posada case, that the suspects would "most likely" be subject to torture in Venezuela, the U.S. is refusing to extradite the two to Venezuela for trial. As in the Posada case, however, international law obliges the U.S. to prosecute them for the crimes if they refuse to acknowledge the extradition request. Instead, these two men, almost certainly terrorists (although obviously not yet convicted), are walking free.

War on terror? Don't you believe it.