Ever heard of Luis Posada Carriles? You should have. He is is one of the most dangerous men in the USA and he is yet another example of US hypocrisy. While supposedly waging a war on terrorism, the USA provided a safe haven to an internationally wanted terrorist. Rendition and Guantánamo were not for him. Instead he became an asset for the CIA after they knew that he was a mass murderer.

On October 6th 1976 the first ever bombing of a commercial plane in flight occurred over Trinidad and Tobago. All 73 people on board died in the ensuing crash. Among the dead was the entire 24-member team of Cuban fencers who had just swept the gold medals at the Central American and Caribbean Championship. Posada Carriles planned and executed this outrage.

Team members included Jesús Gil Pérez, a Havana-born fencing veteran who helped many of his colleagues understand this wonderful sport. José Arencibia, a 23 year-old and winner of a gold and bronze medal at the games died in the atrocity as well. 22-year-old fencer Nancy Uranga Romagosa, hailed from Pinar del Rio. She was considered one of the new stars on the team and was pregnant with her first child. Milagro Peláez González was another up and coming hopeful for the team who won the silver medal at the games. They were all robbed of their futures by a vicious terrorist. [1]

Within days, law enforcement agencies had traced the origin of the bombs to Freddy Lugo and Hernán Ricardo Lozano. Both worked for Luis Posada Carriles and the boss, Carriles, had direct ties to the CIA, working for them in anti-Castro operations while stationed in Venezuela. Lugo and Lozano confessed, implicating Posada Carriles. A week later, Posada Carriles was arrested and jailed pending trial, but with the help of outsiders, he escaped in 1985 disguised as a priest.

Mr. Posada Carriles has worked for years for the CIA. In fact, he has been one of their star agents in their secret war against Fidel Castro and Cuba. His rap sheet of terrorist activities is longer than one can imagine. After his escape from Venezuela, he found his way to El Salvador where he continued his CIA activities against Cuba, bombing two hotels in 1997 among other crimes. Posada Carriles has served as one of the CIA’s most senior terrorists in their secret war against the government of Cuba.

He eventually emerged in the USA, having gained entry illegally, but this story is far more than just another illegal immigrant; it is much more sinister than that. It is a tale of breath-taking hypocrisy. In echoes of the infamous Al Capone story, the US authorities have finally brought Posada Carriles to trial. However, this internationally wanted mass-murderer is being tried for immigration fraud. The notorious Capone had Teflon skin too. He was finally jailed for tax evasion. Sad to see history repeating itself.

1See http://www.familiesforjustice.net/interface.en/design/static/victimas-cubanas.tpl.html for further information on the victims of that atrocity.