US Government Frees a Terrorist

The decision by a federal judge to drop charges against Cuban-born suspected terrorist Luis Posada Carriles earned the US government sharp criticism domestically and internationally last week.

Venezuela pointed out the contradiction between the Bush administration's claim to be fighting international terrorism and the release of Posada.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez said, "He is a murderer, a terrorist, and a torturer, and now he enjoys total freedom in the United States."

Venezuela pledged to continue to seek Posada's extradition for his involvement in blowing up a Cubana Aviación flight which took off from Venezeula in 1976.

By his own admission and declassified US government documents, Posada has been shown to have participated in that terrorist act and others.

Rep. William Delahunt (D-MA) called Posada "one of the most notorious murderers in the Western Hemisphere," and decried the hypocrisy of releasing him.

An editorial in the People's Weekly World on April 28th said: "The U.S. failure to prosecute Posada as a terrorist, or extradite him to Venezuela as mandated by international treaties, sends the message that terrorists of his ilk can operate with impunity."

Natali Fani of the US-based Venezuela Information Office said, "International law declares terrorists as criminals who can be extradited, but Washington is protecting Posada, a former C.I.A. agent, and thus discrediting their battle against terrorism."

--Joel Wendland