Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
International
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Environment
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Ex-CIA operative tied to Cuba bombings: jury
Thu Apr 9, 2009 12:34pm EDT
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Tom Brown
MIAMI (Reuters) - A federal grand jury has accused anti-Castro Cuban exile and former CIA operative Luis Posada Carriles of lying to U.S. authorities about his role in bomb attacks against tourist sites in Cuba in 1997.
In an indictment filed against Posada by the grand jury in El Paso, Texas, on Wednesday, he is accused of seeking to "obstruct and impede" the work of the U.S. government by lying during an immigration interview about his role in the attacks.
An Italian man was killed in the 1997 bomb blasts in Cuba in a case the indictment highlights as an "offense involving international terrorism."
The arraignment of Posada, who has a long history of violent opposition to former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, has been set for April 17 and jury selection for a trial is expected to begin on August 10.
Posada is wanted in both Cuba and Venezuela, where he is accused of masterminding the 1976 suitcase bombing of a Cuban airliner that killed 73 people. That bombing occurred while Posada, a naturalized Venezuelan, lived in the oil-rich South American nation.
The latest indictment marks the first time since Posada arrived in the United States seeking asylum in March 2005 that he has been linked in a court proceeding to the Cuba bombings which killed Italian national Fabio di Celmo.
Posada's Miami-based attorney Arturo Hernandez could not be reached for immediate comment.
But a front-page story in Thursday's edition of Cuba's Communist Party newspaper Granma called the indictment "a surprising change of strategy" by U.S. prosecutors.
It came after "repeated requests for (Posada's) extradition by the government of Venezuela," the newspaper said, adding that it also preceded a regional Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago next week "where the topic will inevitably be mentioned."
Though it branded Posada "the most famous terrorist of the hemisphere," Granma noted that the U.S. charges against him had been limited to perjury and obstruction.
U.S. President Barack Obama will attend the Trinidad summit and calls for a normalization of U.S.-Cuba ties are expected to figure prominently there. Cuba had repeatedly accused Obama's predecessor, former President George W. Bush, of coddling Posada because of his CIA past and his support in the hard-line U.S. Cuban exile community where many regard him as a hero.
Wednesday's indictment does not charge Posada, 81, with planting the Cuba bombs but with lying to an immigration court about his alleged behind-the-scenes role in the attacks at hotels, bars and restaurants in the Havana area.
The Cuban government has claimed that one of two Salvadoran nationals convicted in Havana of the bombings, Raul Ernesto Cruz Leon, placed the bomb that killed the Italian and charged that Cruz Leon was a Posada accomplice.
The Texas grand jury said Posada lied to an immigration judge when asked if he had arranged for Cruz Leon to carry explosives into Cuba. "(The) defendant had been involved in soliciting other individuals to carry out said bombings in Cuba," the indictment read.
After entering the United States illegally in 2005, Posada was subsequently indicted on seven immigration fraud charges accusing of him of lying to immigration authorities, but a U.S. judge threw out those charges in May 2007. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
Yahoo!
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
Aftershocks impede Italian earthquake teams
also on reuters
Video
Video: Reeling automakers plug green cars
Laid-off U.S. workers finding new jobs, less pay
Las Vegas trophy project becomes symbol of trouble
More International News
Iran declares new progress in nuclear drive
Somali pirates keep American hostage on lifeboat
| Video
UK's top anti-terrorism officer quits over blunder
Aftershocks impede Italian earthquake teams
| Video
Georgia street protesters urge Saakashvili to quit
| Video
More International News...
Video
A thaw in US relations with Cuba?
Play Video
More Video...
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Las Vegas trophy project becomes symbol of trouble
L.A. water rationing plan dealt surprise setback
Obama declines comment on US hostage crisis off Somalia
Author who predicted crisis sees inflation ahead
North Korea celebrates launch, makes new threat | Video
Somali pirates keep American hostage on lifeboat | Video
Wells Fargo shocks market with record profit | Video
Somali pirate ambition undeterred by navy patrols
UPDATE 1-US to delay bank test results for earnings-source
Obama to tackle immigration reform this year: report
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Somali pirate hijack
A thaw in US relations with Cuba?
Reeling automakers plug green cars
Tiger sizes up another green jacket
North Korean tv airs rocket video
Indonesians head to the polls
Controversial Slovak police video
Italy quake death toll rises.
Settlers and Palestinians clash
Soccer boss held over stolen car row
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
The Great Debate
World Affairs:
Arabia's knowledge gap
Bernd Debusmann
Education is a tempting target for budget cutters in times of financial distress, but in the Arab world an education drive without parallel is taking place. Commentary
Reuters Deals
The global destination for corporate leaders, deal-makers and innovators
Knowledge to Act
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Interactive TV |
Labs |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.