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<font size=3>Posada Indicted for 1997 Cuba Bombings<br><br>
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</a>Havana, Apr 9 (Prensa Latina) New charges have been pressed against
international terrorist Luis Posada Carriles, who is now being accused of
lying about his involvement in the 1997 bombings against Cuban tourist
spots.<br><br>
The US prosecutors, in a surprise move, are charging the Cuban native and
naturalized Venezuelan citizen of lying to federal authorities about his
involvement in soliciting other individuals to carry out the
bombings.<br><br>
According to Granma daily, prosecutors allege Posada Carriles lied about
asking a Salvadoran citizen named Raul Cruz Leon to take into Cuba
explosives used in the 1997 bombings of Havana hotels, which killed an
Italian tourist.<br><br>
He previously admitted involvement in the hotel bombings in published
interviews. <br><br>
Posada Carriles, a Cuban native and naturalized Venezuelan citizen, later
denied knowing Cruz or having anything to do with those bombings during a
hearing in El Paso in 2005, after he was arrested on immigration charges
in Miami.<br><br>
In January 2007 he was accused of lying to investigators about having
used an alias and about how he entered the United States in 2005. He has
been freed on bond since 2007 after US District Judge Kathleen Cardone
threw the fraud case against him.<br><br>
But the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans reversed Cardone's
ruling last year.<br><br>
The new indictment seems to be linked to an extradition request filed by
Venezuela, whose government is likely to raise the issue at the upcoming
5th Americas Summit in Trinidad and Tobago, the Cuban newspaper
said.<br><br>
Posada Carriles was tried and sentenced in Caracas for his involvement in
the 1976 bombing of a Cubana jetliner with 73 passengers.<br><br>
nm/emw/mac/mf<br><br>
PL-9<br>
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Cuban militant Posada indicted on new charges<br><br>
By ALICIA A. CALDWELL – 14 hours ago <br><br>
EL PASO, Texas (AP) An anti-Castro Cuban militant was accused Wednesday
in a federal indictment of lying about his involvement in a series of
1997 bombings that targeted tourist spots in Cuba.<br><br>
Luis Posada Carriles, a former CIA operative and U.S. Army soldier, was
indicted on 11 counts, including perjury and obstruction of a federal
proceeding. The 81-year-old militant had previously been indicted on six
counts, including immigration fraud and lying to federal authorities in a
bid to become a naturalized U.S. citizen.<br><br>
The indictment is the first time Posada has been accused in the United
States of being involved in the bombings. Cuban authorities have long
accused him of orchestrating the bombings as well as a deadly 1976
bombing of a Cuban jetliner.<br><br>
Felipe Millan, Posada's El Paso lawyer, said Posada denies the
charges.<br><br>
"He's innocent ... and looks forward to having his day in
court," Millan told The Associated Press.<br><br>
Efforts to reach the Cuban Interest Section, which Havana has in
Washington, D.C., in place of an embassy, were unsuccessful Wednesday
evening.<br><br>
The Cuban government did not immediately comment on the indictment, which
came after offices closed for the day. The evening news broadcast on
state television did not mention it.<br><br>
Posada was originally indicted in January 2007. At the time, prosecutors
alleged that he lied to investigators about having used an alias and
about how he entered the United States in the spring of 2005. Posada
claims he sneaked across the border from Mexico near Brownsville, Texas,
but prosecutors say he arrived in Miami on a boat from Mexico.<br><br>
The new indictment charges that Posada, who is wanted in Venezuela and
Cuba in the airline bombing, lied about being involving in
"soliciting other individuals to carry out ... bombings in
Cuba."<br><br>
Prosecutors allege he also lied about asking a man named Raul Cruz Leon
to take into Cuba explosives used in the 1997 bombings of Havana hotels
that they say were aimed at hurting Cuban tourism. Cruz was sentenced to
death for the bombings, which killed an Italian tourist.<br><br>
Posada previously admitted involvement in the hotel bombings in published
interviews, saying that the bombs were intended only to "break
windows and cause minor damage" and that the death of tourist Fabio
di Celmo was "bad luck." He later recanted his
involvement.<br><br>
Posada, a Cuban native and naturalized Venezuelan citizen, denied knowing
Cruz or having anything to do with those bombings during a hearing in El
Paso in 2005.<br><br>
He was arrested on immigration charges in Miami in 2005. He was held at
an immigration jail in El Paso until being indicted in the fraud
case.<br><br>
An immigration judge in El Paso ordered that Posada should be deported in
2005, but said the ailing militant could not be sent to Cuba or Venezuela
because of fears he could be tortured.<br><br>
Posada has been freed on bond, living with his family in Florida, since
2007. No trial date has been set.<br><br>
The fraud case against Posada was initially thrown out by U.S. District
Judge Kathleen Cardone in El Paso, who said the government manipulated
Posada's naturalization interview. Cardone ruled that the government's
Spanish-to-English translation of the April 2006 interview was "so
inaccurate as to render it unreliable as evidence of defendant's actual
statement."<br><br>
The judge also agreed with Posada's lawyers that the naturalization
interview had been a pretext for a criminal investigation.<br><br>
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans reversed Cardone's
ruling last year and earlier this year the U.S. Supreme Court turned down
Posada's request to have the case dismissed based on government
trickery.<br><br>
Posada initially sought asylum in the U.S. before withdrawing that
application and asking to become a naturalized citizen.<br><br>
<i>Associated Press writers Will Lester in Washington and Anita Snow in
Havana contributed to this report.<br><br>
</i>Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. <br><br>
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