This is a bit surprising and, perhaps, hopeful. But I'm not betting any money yet that justice will be done.
A Texas court said that if the asylum request of Luis Posada Carriles, the Cuban-Venezuelan, is rejected, he could be deported to Venezuela, where he is wanted in connection with the bombing of a 1976 airplane that killed 73 persons. The U.S. government’s Department of Homeland Security did not object to the judge’s decision.The die is not yet cast, and it would not be surprising for the Bush administration to intervene--behind the scenes, to be sure. The elder Bush made his mark in American politics as an anti-Castro conservative, and as head of the CIA during the time Posada was an agency operative who helped to plan and carry out the Cubana airline bombing. Posada also worked closely with Bush friend and CIA "asset" Felix Rodriguez during the Iran/Contra scandal.
Recently declassified CIA documents show that Posada was, indeed, a central planner of the 1976 terrorist attack despite his denials.
The Secretary General of the Organization of American States, Jose Miguel Insulza, recently joined the international call for Posada's extradition--NOT deportation--to Venezuela. Not to do so, he implied, would make the US's stated objective of fighting terror a joke. As it stands right now, we can extradite a terrorist, or we can deport an illegal immigrant--or we can do nothing.
It's time for the President to give him up. Does he have the courage?
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