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13th January 2008, 18:23
LUIS POSADA CARRILES
Cuban exile militant stirs up foes, fans
Protesters clashed over their opinions of one man, Cuban exile militant Luis Posada Carriles.
Posted on Sun, Jan. 13, 2008
BY DAVID QUINONES
[email protected]
The image of Cuban exile militant Luis Posada Carriles -- a freedom fighter to some, a terrorist to others -- appeared on an eight-foot-wide billboard float in Little Havana.
On Saturday, one's opinion of Posada was dependent on one's geography.
To a small contingent of out-of-town protesters gathered in front of Versailles Cafe on Calle Ocho, Posada is a symbol of terror. To more than 500 Miami locals who showed up on the same street, Posada is a man to be revered.
The San Francisco-based group CodePink called for Posada, a former CIA operative, to be imprisoned. They rode in a truck toting a sign featuring a mugshot of Posada that read: ``Wanted by the FBI: Luis Posada Carriles for terrorism.''
The pro-Posada group wouldn't have any part of it, so they tried to rip down the two-sided billboard. That prompted the CodePink protesters to abandon their demonstration -- at least in Little Havana.
Miami police reported no arrests during the short demonstration.
CodePink organizers, who brought together about 15 protesters, said they came to Miami for the week to get signatures on postcards advocating Posada's imprisonment. They seemed taken aback by the backlash from the pro-Posada protesters.
''We don't want this here, and you have no place here in our community,'' Laura Vianello, a member of the exile advocacy group Vigilia Mambisa, shouted to the crowd over a megaphone moments after the fracas.
''It was completely ridiculous and the Miami police did nothing to stop it,'' charged Medea Benjamin, speaking for CodePink.
Posada's attorney, Arturo Hernandez, said CodePink is out of line.
'My client has been given the moniker of `terrorist,' but the reality is my client has been cleared not once but twice, and in two different countries,'' he said.
Posada, a Cuban-born Venezuelan national, gained notoriety in 1976 when employees of his detective agency were implicated in the bombing of Air Cubana Flight 455.
Venezuela accused him of treason for the bombing. He was charged in civil court but the case was never tried. Posada spent nine years in a Caracas prison. In 1985, he escaped to El Salvador before finding his way to Miami.
Posada, 80, sneaked into the United States in 2005, and was indicted for lying about how he entered the country. After two years of court wranglings, the U.S. government dropped all charges.
Cuba wants to try Posada for a series of bombings at island tourist sites in 1997 that killed an Italian tourist.
An immigration judge ruled the Cuban-born Posada cannot be deported to Cuba or Venezuela, where he's a naturalized citizen, because he could face torture for his alleged anti-Castro violence.
Cuban exile militant stirs up foes, fans
Protesters clashed over their opinions of one man, Cuban exile militant Luis Posada Carriles.
Posted on Sun, Jan. 13, 2008
BY DAVID QUINONES
[email protected]
The image of Cuban exile militant Luis Posada Carriles -- a freedom fighter to some, a terrorist to others -- appeared on an eight-foot-wide billboard float in Little Havana.
On Saturday, one's opinion of Posada was dependent on one's geography.
To a small contingent of out-of-town protesters gathered in front of Versailles Cafe on Calle Ocho, Posada is a symbol of terror. To more than 500 Miami locals who showed up on the same street, Posada is a man to be revered.
The San Francisco-based group CodePink called for Posada, a former CIA operative, to be imprisoned. They rode in a truck toting a sign featuring a mugshot of Posada that read: ``Wanted by the FBI: Luis Posada Carriles for terrorism.''
The pro-Posada group wouldn't have any part of it, so they tried to rip down the two-sided billboard. That prompted the CodePink protesters to abandon their demonstration -- at least in Little Havana.
Miami police reported no arrests during the short demonstration.
CodePink organizers, who brought together about 15 protesters, said they came to Miami for the week to get signatures on postcards advocating Posada's imprisonment. They seemed taken aback by the backlash from the pro-Posada protesters.
''We don't want this here, and you have no place here in our community,'' Laura Vianello, a member of the exile advocacy group Vigilia Mambisa, shouted to the crowd over a megaphone moments after the fracas.
''It was completely ridiculous and the Miami police did nothing to stop it,'' charged Medea Benjamin, speaking for CodePink.
Posada's attorney, Arturo Hernandez, said CodePink is out of line.
'My client has been given the moniker of `terrorist,' but the reality is my client has been cleared not once but twice, and in two different countries,'' he said.
Posada, a Cuban-born Venezuelan national, gained notoriety in 1976 when employees of his detective agency were implicated in the bombing of Air Cubana Flight 455.
Venezuela accused him of treason for the bombing. He was charged in civil court but the case was never tried. Posada spent nine years in a Caracas prison. In 1985, he escaped to El Salvador before finding his way to Miami.
Posada, 80, sneaked into the United States in 2005, and was indicted for lying about how he entered the country. After two years of court wranglings, the U.S. government dropped all charges.
Cuba wants to try Posada for a series of bombings at island tourist sites in 1997 that killed an Italian tourist.
An immigration judge ruled the Cuban-born Posada cannot be deported to Cuba or Venezuela, where he's a naturalized citizen, because he could face torture for his alleged anti-Castro violence.