US protecting terrorist, says Venezuelan Foreign Minister
Havana, Nov. 23/2005 (AIN) Venezuela's Foreign Minister Ali Rodriguez described as "extremely cynical" the position assumed by Washington with regard to case of terrorist Luis Posada Carriles.
The Venezuelan government official told Prensa Latina news agency that US authorities have insisted on using the universal statement that a terrorist is not only that person who commits a terrorist act, but also those who protect terrorists.
However, Washington is resorting to excuses to protect Posada Carriles, said Rodriguez, noting that such an position scraps any possibility of US authorities really fighting terrorism. He said that Venezuela will insist on its extradition request against Posada, since "it is not only a legal case, it is an ethical issue linked to basic principles and the United States fulfilling its legal obligations."
Posada Carriles is the author of the 1976 mid-air bombing of a Cuban airliner off the coasts of Barbados which killed all 73 people on board.
An outlaw of Venezuelan justice, Posada Carriles escaped from a prison in that South American nation before facing a trial for the bombing of the Cuban plane. He is also accused of having tortured Venezuelan social activists and organized the bombing of Cuban hotels - one of which killed young Italian tourist Fabio di Celmo.
A former CIA operative, Posada Carriles was arrested in Miami this past May and he currently in a detention center in El Paso, Texas awaiting an immigration hearing.
Cuba and Venezuela have accused the Bush administration of protecting the terrorist in an effort to avoid his extradition to Venezuela.