CubaSocialista
1st September 2005, 03:47
By Bill Weaver and Irasema Coronado
Republished from narcosphere.narconews.com
Luis Posada Carriles appeared in court today to begin making his case for asylum to stay in the United States. . .
Posted on Mon Aug 29th, 2005 at 11:48:55 PM EST
Luis Posada Carriles appeared in court today to begin making his case for asylum to stay in the United States. Stronger and more assertive than at his July hearing, he spoke in a voice that revealed his age but barely hid the ferocity that has fueled his life as perhaps the most prolific terrorist in the western hemisphere. Spittle frequently fell from his mouth, even though he incessantly dabbed his lips with a napkin; the consequence of would-be assassins’ bullets to his face in Guatemala City in 1991. When the Department of Homeland Security attorneys entered the courtroom, Posada immediately moved over to accommodate their chairs; the gracious host making room at his table for guests. Dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit and wearing headphones for translation purposes, he answered Judge William Abbott’s questions politely, precisely, and firmly. Abbott asked Posada if his asylum application was a true account of the incidents and information it related. Posada, clad in a bullet proof vest under his prison issue, answered in a loud voice, “Yes sir, of course.”
Outside, protestors chanted, calling for Posada’s extradition to Cuba or Venezuela and hung pictures of the 73 victims of Cubana Flight 455, blown up on October 6, 1976, by Posada, fellow terrorist Orlando Bosch, and two of Posada’s employees. Two sisters of Raymond Persaud, a Cubana Airlines bombing victim, begged to be let into the hearing to see the man who had destroyed their brother, but seats were only available to the media. While the U.S. Government denies any involvement in the Cubana bombing, evidence indicates that the Director of Central Intelligence at the time of the bombing, George H.W. Bush, was aware of the conspiracy and that he did nothing to warn the Cubans.
While picketers on the street blared their message of remembrance for the slain through microphones, in the courtroom chief government attorney, Gina Garrett-Jackson, announced in an opening statement that the government would not contest Posada’s claim that his extradition to Cuba would violate the Convention Against Torture. The CAT treaty, among other things, prohibits the extradition or return, or “refouler,” of people to countries where it is more likely than not that the extradited person will be subjected to torture. Ratified by the United States in 1994, and supported with enabling statutes, the Bush Administration, through Garrett-Jackson, was only too glad to publicly imply that Posada’s extradition to Cuba would result in his torture. This is the same Administration that kidnapped Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen, from New York and flew him manacled and gagged to the Middle East to be delivered to the Syrian government for months of torture. Justified in these acts by an assertion that Arar was an associate of known members of al Qaeda, it nonetheless turned out that Arar had no association whatsoever with terrorists. In similar disregard for law, Bush has sent suspected terrorists to Uzbekistan, where torture of prisoners is commonplace, and interrogators sometimes boil their captives to death. The Bush Administration has carried out dozens of these “extraordinary renditions,” the kidnapping and delivery for torture of persons to third countries, and seems little concerned about the CAT on those occasions. In this case, however, a known terrorist who has engaged in numerous violent and deadly acts against civilian targets is nevertheless afforded meticulous protection under the CAT, protection that Maher Arar, who was no terrorist at all, was denied.
Although for naught, Posada came prepared, with witnesses at the ready to explain why CAT would prevent a refouler to Cuba. Posada had friends prepared to testify that his extradition to Cuba would result in his torture by the Castro regime, and Mr. René Cruz, who claimed to have been imprisoned in Cuba from 1962-1979 after capture during the Bay of Pigs invasion, was clearly upset at Posada’s predicament. He told us that he visited with Posada yesterday and that gaining entry to the facility was “como un circo” [like a circus], and that “Seria una ingratitud del gobierno de los estados unidos” [it would be churlish of the United States to deny Posada asylum] since “El ha estado a la disposición de todos en las fuerzas armadas, el fue oficial del ejercito Americano” [He has been at the disposal of the U.S. armed forces and was an officer in the U.S. Army].
With extradition to Cuba predictably off the table, Posada must now convince Judge Abbott that extradition to Venezuela is also a violation of CAT. But government counsel was decidedly coy on this point. Addressing the requested extradition of Posada by Venezuela, Ms. Garrett-Jackson carefully chose her words, explaining that the government “reserved” its position concerning the Venezuelan request for extradition until the Departments of State and Justice could be consulted and the testimony and application of Mr. Posada evaluated. But the tone was quite different from what one would expect in a normal adversarial action, where government attorneys usually strongly reject substantive defense contentions. In this case, the government opted for badminton over hard ball, which left the distinct impression that recent contretemps with Venezuela’s president, Hugo Chavez, may impact the government’s decision concerning Posada’s extradition. Cruz scoffed at the idea that Posada could or should be extradited to Venezuela, describing Hugo Chavez as “la primera dama de Cuba” [the first lady of Cuba] and ”¿Has visto un enamoramiento como el del Cuba y Venezuela?” [Have you ever seen such a love affair as the one between Cuba and Venezuela?]
Still, with little other choice, Posada’s attorneys conceded that he was illegally in the United States and that he was deportable on those grounds, if no other. Judge Abbott then asked if the government had a preference as to where Mr. Posada would be deported, if it ever came to that, and the government admitted that if deportation is made it should be to Venezuela.
As we filed out of the courtroom, Posada turned to look at the exiting crowd and flashed an enormous smile, a smile that René Cruz returned and saluted with his right hand. Cruz then looked to us and asked, “A quien se lo van a mandar?” The answer is probably no one; there is little chance that Bush will send Posada into the hands of the very kinds of people he and his family revile and have fought against for decades; Posada is their employee, their spirit, their friend.
This was never our country, comrades.
What a fucking, fucking, fucking, shame.
Where were the firebombs to kill these gray-haired government bureaucrats!?
Republished from narcosphere.narconews.com
Luis Posada Carriles appeared in court today to begin making his case for asylum to stay in the United States. . .
Posted on Mon Aug 29th, 2005 at 11:48:55 PM EST
Luis Posada Carriles appeared in court today to begin making his case for asylum to stay in the United States. Stronger and more assertive than at his July hearing, he spoke in a voice that revealed his age but barely hid the ferocity that has fueled his life as perhaps the most prolific terrorist in the western hemisphere. Spittle frequently fell from his mouth, even though he incessantly dabbed his lips with a napkin; the consequence of would-be assassins’ bullets to his face in Guatemala City in 1991. When the Department of Homeland Security attorneys entered the courtroom, Posada immediately moved over to accommodate their chairs; the gracious host making room at his table for guests. Dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit and wearing headphones for translation purposes, he answered Judge William Abbott’s questions politely, precisely, and firmly. Abbott asked Posada if his asylum application was a true account of the incidents and information it related. Posada, clad in a bullet proof vest under his prison issue, answered in a loud voice, “Yes sir, of course.”
Outside, protestors chanted, calling for Posada’s extradition to Cuba or Venezuela and hung pictures of the 73 victims of Cubana Flight 455, blown up on October 6, 1976, by Posada, fellow terrorist Orlando Bosch, and two of Posada’s employees. Two sisters of Raymond Persaud, a Cubana Airlines bombing victim, begged to be let into the hearing to see the man who had destroyed their brother, but seats were only available to the media. While the U.S. Government denies any involvement in the Cubana bombing, evidence indicates that the Director of Central Intelligence at the time of the bombing, George H.W. Bush, was aware of the conspiracy and that he did nothing to warn the Cubans.
While picketers on the street blared their message of remembrance for the slain through microphones, in the courtroom chief government attorney, Gina Garrett-Jackson, announced in an opening statement that the government would not contest Posada’s claim that his extradition to Cuba would violate the Convention Against Torture. The CAT treaty, among other things, prohibits the extradition or return, or “refouler,” of people to countries where it is more likely than not that the extradited person will be subjected to torture. Ratified by the United States in 1994, and supported with enabling statutes, the Bush Administration, through Garrett-Jackson, was only too glad to publicly imply that Posada’s extradition to Cuba would result in his torture. This is the same Administration that kidnapped Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen, from New York and flew him manacled and gagged to the Middle East to be delivered to the Syrian government for months of torture. Justified in these acts by an assertion that Arar was an associate of known members of al Qaeda, it nonetheless turned out that Arar had no association whatsoever with terrorists. In similar disregard for law, Bush has sent suspected terrorists to Uzbekistan, where torture of prisoners is commonplace, and interrogators sometimes boil their captives to death. The Bush Administration has carried out dozens of these “extraordinary renditions,” the kidnapping and delivery for torture of persons to third countries, and seems little concerned about the CAT on those occasions. In this case, however, a known terrorist who has engaged in numerous violent and deadly acts against civilian targets is nevertheless afforded meticulous protection under the CAT, protection that Maher Arar, who was no terrorist at all, was denied.
Although for naught, Posada came prepared, with witnesses at the ready to explain why CAT would prevent a refouler to Cuba. Posada had friends prepared to testify that his extradition to Cuba would result in his torture by the Castro regime, and Mr. René Cruz, who claimed to have been imprisoned in Cuba from 1962-1979 after capture during the Bay of Pigs invasion, was clearly upset at Posada’s predicament. He told us that he visited with Posada yesterday and that gaining entry to the facility was “como un circo” [like a circus], and that “Seria una ingratitud del gobierno de los estados unidos” [it would be churlish of the United States to deny Posada asylum] since “El ha estado a la disposición de todos en las fuerzas armadas, el fue oficial del ejercito Americano” [He has been at the disposal of the U.S. armed forces and was an officer in the U.S. Army].
With extradition to Cuba predictably off the table, Posada must now convince Judge Abbott that extradition to Venezuela is also a violation of CAT. But government counsel was decidedly coy on this point. Addressing the requested extradition of Posada by Venezuela, Ms. Garrett-Jackson carefully chose her words, explaining that the government “reserved” its position concerning the Venezuelan request for extradition until the Departments of State and Justice could be consulted and the testimony and application of Mr. Posada evaluated. But the tone was quite different from what one would expect in a normal adversarial action, where government attorneys usually strongly reject substantive defense contentions. In this case, the government opted for badminton over hard ball, which left the distinct impression that recent contretemps with Venezuela’s president, Hugo Chavez, may impact the government’s decision concerning Posada’s extradition. Cruz scoffed at the idea that Posada could or should be extradited to Venezuela, describing Hugo Chavez as “la primera dama de Cuba” [the first lady of Cuba] and ”¿Has visto un enamoramiento como el del Cuba y Venezuela?” [Have you ever seen such a love affair as the one between Cuba and Venezuela?]
Still, with little other choice, Posada’s attorneys conceded that he was illegally in the United States and that he was deportable on those grounds, if no other. Judge Abbott then asked if the government had a preference as to where Mr. Posada would be deported, if it ever came to that, and the government admitted that if deportation is made it should be to Venezuela.
As we filed out of the courtroom, Posada turned to look at the exiting crowd and flashed an enormous smile, a smile that René Cruz returned and saluted with his right hand. Cruz then looked to us and asked, “A quien se lo van a mandar?” The answer is probably no one; there is little chance that Bush will send Posada into the hands of the very kinds of people he and his family revile and have fought against for decades; Posada is their employee, their spirit, their friend.
This was never our country, comrades.
What a fucking, fucking, fucking, shame.
Where were the firebombs to kill these gray-haired government bureaucrats!?