Friday, April 08, 2011 Cuban ex-CIA agent acquitted of charges alleging he lied during US immigration hearing By Associated Press, Friday, April , 3:08 PM
EL PASO, Texas An elderly Cuban former CIA operative accused of lying during a U.S. immigration hearing was acquitted on all charges Friday, with jurors taking just three hours to reach a verdict after enduring 13 weeks of often-delayed testimony. Luis Posada Carriles, 83, broke out in a huge grin when the verdict was read and hugged all three of his attorneys simultaneously. One of the attorneys broke down in tears. Across the aisle, the federal prosecutors who painstakingly built their case during the first 11 weeks by calling 23 witnesses, sat still. Anytime a jury has a case, theres no telling what they might do. But we respect the jurys decision, Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Reardon said after the hearing. Posada, who spent decades working to destabilize communist Latin American governments, often with Washingtons backing, is Public Enemy No. 1 in his homeland and is considered ex-President Fidel Castros nemesis. Prosecutors said Posada lied to immigration officials about how he sneaked into the U.S. in 2005 and by denying he masterminded a series of hotel bombings in Cuba in 1997 that killed an Italian tourist and wounded 12 other people. Posada said in a 1998 interview with The New York Times that he planned the attacks, but later recanted that. The defense, which called just eight witnesses over eight days, maintained Posada should have been allowed to retire a hero in Miami for his service to the country during the darkest days of the cold war. Posada spent nearly two years in immigration detention centers but was released in 2007 and had been living in Miami. Posada participated in the doomed Bay of Pigs invasion, served as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army and was a CIA operative until 1976. He then moved to Venezuela and served as head of that countrys intelligence service. Also in 1976, he was arrested for planning the bombing of a Cuban airliner that killed 73 people. Posada was acquitted by a military tribunal, but escaped from prison while still facing a civilian trial. He helped the U.S. funnel support to Nicaraguan Contra rebels in the 1980s, and, in 2000, was arrested in Panama amid a plot to kill Castro during a summit there. He was pardoned by Panamas president in 2004 and turned up in the U.S. the following March. Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. UNCONFIRMED: Posada Carriles trial jury reaches a verdict<http://cubajournal.blogspot.com/2011/04/unconfirmed-posada-carriles-trial-jury.html> *Boston Herald*<http://news.bostonherald.com/news/national/southwest/view/20110408jurors_reach_verdict_in_trial_of_castros_nemesis/srvc=home&position=recent>is reporting the following unconfirmed report: EL PASO, Texas Texas jurors have reached a quick verdict in the federal trial of a Cuban anti-communist militant considered ex-President Fidel Castros nemesis. A court clerk in El Paso says jurors reached a verdict Friday after less than a day of deliberations. 2:57 p.m. *The Atlanta Journal Constitution*<http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/jurors-reach-verdict-in-902698.html> [JG: this link is no longer working] is reporting the same news. 3:07 p.m. *MSNBC* <http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/42488312/ns/us_news/> is reporting that Possada Carriles has be acquitted of the charges. Posted by Cuba Journal at 4/08/2011 02:50:00 PM<http://cubajournal.blogspot.com/2011/04/unconfirmed-posada-carriles-trial-jury.html> 0 comments<https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=19674712&postID=7463560207436365622> <http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=19674712&postID=7463560207436365622> Labels: Cuba <http://cubajournal.blogspot.com/search/label/Cuba>, Luis Posada Carriles<http://cubajournal.blogspot.com/search/label/Luis%20Posada%20Carriles>, Miami Terrorists<http://cubajournal.blogspot.com/search/label/Miami%20Terrorists> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[email protected]?subject=laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! 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