September 1, 2008
Venezuelans in Florida bolster expatriate support for Luis Posada
By Alexia Campbell | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
September 1, 2008
Cuban exiles in Miami consider him a freedom fighter. The governments of Cuba and Venezuela see him as a ruthless assassin. But to many Venezuelans living in Broward County, Luis Posada Carriles is just a man trapped in a political circus.

"It's complicated," said Alberto Bellurin, a contractor who moved to Weston from Caracas 10 years ago. Posada is a Cuban-born Venezuelan citizen and ex-CIA operative wanted on charges of blowing up a Cuban jetliner, killing 73 people en route from Caracas to Havana in 1976.

Once again, Posada is a topic of conversation among expatriates — and not just Cubans. He is finding support among expatriates from the country demanding his return to face trial: Venezuela.

It has been a roundabout route from Caracas to South Florida for the 80-year-old anti-Castro militant — including a prison break, an assassination attempt against Fidel Castro, a presidential pardon in Panama and an illegal return to the United States aboard a shrimp boat.



Then, on Aug. 14, when it looked like Posada might linger in immigration limbo and Venezuela's demands for extradition would go unheeded, a federal appeals court ordered him to stand trial on immigration fraud charges. He faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

The case against him had been dropped in 2007, when a federal judge ruled the government was deceitful in using a naturalization interview against him.

Posada has until early this month to request a rehearing before a federal appeals court. "This is just another excuse to take him to court again," Bellurin said.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has demanded the United States extradite Posada, who lives in Miami. But a U.S. immigration judge ruled against it, saying he could face torture.

"Not only would he be tortured, he would be executed," said Pedro Mena, a board member of the Americas Community Center in Weston, a nonprofit organization focused on Hispanic development.

Posada was tried for the plane bombing, in Venezuela, and acquitted. He escaped from jail pending retrial.

Fifteen years later, Panama convicted him of conspiring to assassinate Castro. Panama's then-president, Mireya Moscoso, pardoned him in 2004.

The next year, Posada was arrested for entering the United States illegally. Since then, Cuba and Venezuela have accused the United States of protecting a terrorist.

The three countries need to give up, said Rafael Adrianza, chairman of National Venezuelan American Foundation, a Miramar-based social services group.

"How long has it been, 30 years?" he asked. "We need to put an end to this. Leave that man in peace."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.



Alexia Campbell can be reached at apcampbell@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4513.

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