AntiWar.Com
by Jim Lobe

09/29/05

The decision Tuesday by a U.S. immigration judge in Texas to deny Venezuela's request to extradite Luis Posada Carriles, whom Caracas has dubbed 'the Osama bin Laden of Latin America,' was greeted with surprise and disappointment by Latin America activists and even some former U.S. officials. Venezuela wants Carriles to stand trial for the October 1976 bombing of a civilian Cubana Airlines flight that killed all 73 people aboard shortly after it took off from Barbados. Venezuela's ambassador here, Bernardo Alvarez, accused the George W. Bush administration of using a 'double standard' on terrorism. He said the White House and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which represented the administration before the court, 'virtually' collaborated with Posada by failing to contest statements by one defense witness that Posada would be tortured if he were returned to Caracas. ... 'if we examine our respective records on torture, a prisoner is more likely to be tortured in the custody of the U.S. government than in the custody of Venezuelan officials'...

http://www.antiwar.com/lobe/?articleid=7434


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp