CUBA, April 9, 2007.- Luis Posada Carriles, the author of the 1976 bombing in mid air of a Cubana airliner that killed 73 POB, obtained a release on bond order, Friday, by District Judge Kathleen Cardone at El Paso, Texas, until he faces trial on May 11 on charges of immigration fraud, although a federal agency said he will remain in custody. The court ruling confirms the double standard used by the Bush administration in its so-called war against terrorism. The US refuses to try Posada for crimes against humanity, while five Cuban men--known internationally as the Cuban Five-- continue serving long, unjust prison sentences after they uncovered terrorist plots against the island hatched in US territory. By coincidence, the decision ordering Luis Posada's release on bond came on the tenth anniversary of a wave of terrorist attacks on Cuban tourist facilities in Havana, one of which took the life of Italian Fabio Di Celmo and wounded several Cubans. Posada has boasted of planning the attacks, Granma daily reported. The judge yielded above all to the pressure of the Miami-based terrorist anti-Cuban organizations, like Alpha 66, which attended the bond hearing this week. Meanwhile, the Immigration and Customs Agency (ICE) said it was "disappointed" with the decision and assured that instead of his being released, Posada would be transferred to an immigration detention center from the New Mexico jail where he is currently awaiting trial. Posada faces two legal processes in the United States. One is in a district court over immigration fraud and giving false testimony. The other is in an immigration court for illegal entry into the US, under which a deportation order was already issued but no country expressed a willingness to accept him. Meanwhile, the international community continues to demand justice and Venezuela insists on its extradition request, to date ignored by the US authorities. Besides the Havana hotel attacks, Posada Carriles is credited with the bombing of Cubana Airlines Flight 455 in 1976 which killed all 73 persons on board, and plots to assassinate Cuban President Fidel Castro. (Cubaminrex-Cuban News Agency)
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