US Charges Cuban Exile in Bombings

Luis Posada Carriles linked to fatal 1997 bombings

A former CIA spook and anti-Castro militant was indicted yesterday for his involvement in a series of deadly bombings in Havana in 1997 that targeted Cuban tourists spots.

Luis Posada Carriles was indicted on 11 counts including perjury and obstruction of a federal proceeding in an El Paso courtroom yesterday, the first time he'd been linked to the bombing in a US court.

Cuban authorities have long accused him of the hotel bombings, which killed an Italian tourist, as well as the 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner.

"He's innocent ... and looks forward to having his day in court," Posada's lawyer, Felipe Millan, said.

Posada has admitted his involvement in the hotel bombings in published interviews, saying they were intended only to "break windows and cause minor damage" and that the death of tourist Fabio di Celmo was "bad luck." But he later retracted these statements.

Posada, 81, had been indicted in 2007 on immigration charges after being arrested in Miami in 2005 for sneaking into the country.

The Cuban native and naturalized Venezuelan citizen was ordered deported in 2005 but was held until 2007 because of fears that he would be tortured if sent to Cuba or Venezuela.

Posada has been living in Miami with his family since 2007.

A 2007 documentary detailed Posada's dealing with the CIA and the agency's role in directing his deadly actions.   

The documentary, "Posada: Terrorism Made in America," called him "the Osama bin Laden of the Western Hemisphere," and said he was responsible for dozens of political killings and terrorist operations throughout Latin America.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us