The U.S. government has an opportunity to bring terrorists to
justice
. The arrest of Santiago Alvarez and his accomplices offers the possibility of responding to Fidel's questions on the case of murderer Posada Carriles
By
Joaquín Oramas
Taken from Granma International
November 21, 2005
Terrorist Santiago Alvarez and two of his accomplices have been arrested in Miami for their involvement in the illegal entry into the United States of criminal Luis Posada Carriles. Automatic weapons, grenades, grenade-launchers, silencers and thousands of munitions and false documents were confiscated from them.
Three days later, the FBI operation has not been supported with any statement by U.S. authorities linking the arrests to the investigations on Posada Carriles' surreptitious entry into the country.
In any case, it is to be expected that U.S. authorities will use the opportunity of the arrest of these three sinister individuals to look into interesting details of the voyage by the yacht Santrina from Islas Mujeres to Miami , a subject on which President Fidel Castro has repeatedly questioned the U.S. authorities.
Who was on that Santrina trip? How did Posada Carriles get into the United States ? What role was played by Santiago Alvarez and his accomplices in this operation?
The U.S. government has a significant opportunity to show its genuine vocation for combating terrorism. To date, double standards, hypocrisy and cynicism have been the U.S. banners in the world in the worldwide fight against that terrible scourge.
During the TV and radio "Roundtable" program titled "Posada Carriles, the terrorist mafia of Miami and Washington's anti-Cuban policy," experts explained the recent important events in Miami related to the arrest of several terrorists there.
Journalist Reynaldo Taladrid said that whatever happens, these occurrences are an example of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's lack of police efficiency and intelligence, because if Posada Carriles entered the country when he did, it is only now that one of his self-acknowledged accomplices, Santiago Alvarez Magriñat, has been arrested. This is the same man that infiltrated a commando in Cuba to blow up the Tropicana nightclub, and that after the terrorists had been arrested, spoke to one of them over the telephone, unaware of his arrest, saying, "Lie low, hide out for a while, so you can dynamite Tropicana later." That conversation was recorded by the Cuban authorities and broadcast on television some time ago.
Alvarez also participated in the conspiracy to assassinate President Fidel Castro in Panama , and when the four terrorists participating in that action were later arrested, led a fundraising effort to cover acts of bribery and the legal defense of the Miami-based criminals.
He was also the man who rented an aircraft to take the terrorists out of Panama after they were pardoned by then-President Mireya Moscoso, and took charge of another two airplanes: one to transfer Posada Carriles to Central America and another to take the rest to Miami . He is the same man who took Posada Carriles on the yacht Santrina to Miami , together with other accomplices.
Afterwards, he took care of terrorist Posada Carriles in his hiding place, and accompanied him during a press conference at a "secret location" in a warehouse, not attended by some major media because they were not allowed to ask questions.
Taladrid noted what Alvarez's words were while he was being led away by federal authorities: "I'm ready to deal with whatever it might be...The search didn't surprise me or bother me...For a while now, there has been a gray cloud over my alleged participation in Posada Carriles' presence here...Now I'll wait."
He felt protected, remarked Taladrid. Subsequently, a judge charged him with possession of automatic weapons, some with the serial numbers erased; a silencer without proper registration and a false passport, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami .
Officially, there was no mention of the Cuban president's questions regarding the crimes committed in Posada Carriles' illegal entry into the United States .
The "Roundtable" program also took note of the initial reactions from the Miami mafia: "I'm surprised about his arrest, because Santiago Alvarez is not guilty of anything," said Eusebio Peñalver, president of Unidad Cubana (Cuban Unity).
Other positive comments were made about the detainee by Eduardo Soto, Posada Carriles' attorney, who said that nothing would happen to Alvarez. On that, Taladrid asked, "What qualifies the lawyer of a terrorist to make that affirmation?" He also commented on the arrest of Osvaldo Mitat, who was also on the Santrina, and that of a third man whose name has not been disclosed by authorities in Miami .
In a display of hysteria, José Basulto of Brothers to the Rescue, said that it was "sad" that the United States should take such a position, particularly in response to initiatives by Castro, and declared himself convinced that Washington is acting as a result of pressures from Havana . According to Basulto, it is inconceivable that it (Bush's government) should lower itself to the moral level of taking action against individuals who have always supported it.
Other counterrevolutionary groups supposedly closer to the U.S. government indicated that they would prefer to wait for more details on the issue before commenting. That reaction was confirmed by Francisco Aruca, director of Radio Progreso Alternativa, who told the "Roundtable" program that the Miami media is emphasizing along with extreme right-wing elements that the arrest of the terrorists could create a conflict for the Bush administration with people who were its political allies.
Aruca recalled that during the anti-terrorism conference held in Havana, he interviewed Mexican journalist Renán Castro, of Por Esto newspaper, who spoke very clearly regarding how Posada Carriles was taken to Miami aboard the Santrina, and provided names of well-known individuals from that Mexican town - such as the former mayor and the president of a fisherman's cooperative - who said they had seen Posada Carriles walking around Islas Mujeres and when he boarded the Santrina.
"We always maintained that this was worthy of investigation by U.S. officials," Aruca added.
Likewise, he noted that the interview that appeared on June 5 had been republished, arousing new interest, and said that the arrest of Alvarez and his accomplices was providing an opportunity for a deep-going investigation on Posada Carriles' arrest in Miami.
Cuba 's accusations regarding the shameful proceedings surrounding Posada Carriles and the demand for the release of the five Cuban heroes imprisoned by the empire were commented on by journalist Juana Carrasco. She referred to an article published in the Orlando Sentinel by Wayne Smith, former head of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, and noted that Bush had repeated more than once that whomever gave shelter or aid to a terrorist was a terrorist - something that could be applied to the current proceedings with the Five.
Carrasco explained that a paid advertisement had been placed in The New York Times in the form of an open letter, to the families of the victims of September 11 from the families of the crew and passengers on the Cubana Airlines passenger plane who were killed by a mid-flight bombing over Barbados, carried out by terrorists led by Posada Carriles and Orlando Bosch. In the ad, which included various accusations and arguments, the following question was asked: should the United States give asylum to an international terrorist?
Carrasco revealed that one of the victims of the criminal sabotage was pregnant at the time, and for that reason, she said, the number killed in the sabotage should actually be 74, one more than reported after the attack.
Details were also provided during the program on the participation by Posada Carriles and other Cuban counterrevolutionaries in Operation Condor, responsible for the torture, death and disappearances of tens of thousands of people in South America, mainly Chile, Argentina and Uruguay. The victims included two Cuban diplomats in Argentina , explained journalist Raúl Garcés.
Randy Alonso, the "Roundtable" moderator, referred to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the fact that the Cuban terrorists had an interest in his death in Dallas . He also said that a U.S. congressional commission had reached the conclusion that the crime involved more people than just the lone gunman Lee Harvey Oswald, accused by the governmental Warren Commission.
The economic war
Commenting on the U.S. blockade of Cuba , journalist Renato Recio mentioned the attempt by some U.S. members of Congress to introduce an amendment loosening restrictions on sales to Cuba , which were finally suppressed under threat of presidential veto. That same Congress approved the allocation of $30 million for the ill-named TV Martí, which even uses a military plane for its broadcast, a dangerous procedure.