Ex-CIA Operative Seeks Asylum

Ex-CIA operative denies Castro assassination plot
Tue Aug 30, 2005 11:11 PM ET By Gina Keating

EL PASO, Texas (Reuters) - An ex-CIA operative denied that he tried to assassinate Cuban Communist leader Fidel Castro as he fought on Tuesday for U.S. asylum and against extradition to Venezuela, where he escaped from jail 20 years ago.

Luis Posada Carriles, a self-described anti-Castro "freedom fighter" accused in the 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner that killed 73 people, surfaced in Miami early this year after a 1985 jail break in Venezuela.

The appearance of the 77-year-old Cuban brought extradition demands from Venezuela, where he was a naturalized citizen, and from his homeland of Cuba.

U.S. government lawyers say a record of violent acts makes him ineligible for asylum.
Posada admitted in testimony to using a Salvadoran passport with a false name to enter Panama in 2000 shortly before he and others were arrested for purportedly plotting to assassinate Castro. But he denied involvement in any plot against Castro

The Bush administration needs to develope a little backbone and grant Carriles asylum. Unless there is sufficient evidence of his terrorist activity. If he is an actual terrorist then that is an entirely different matter.

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