Cuban official demands action on Posada

Does Cuba want him returned to the island?
No. We are not asking for his extradition, although we have that right because he’s committed many crimes against us. But, we’ve officially said we don’t want him here.

Twenty years ago Venezuela declared him a fugitive from justice — long before President Chavez came to power. The U.S. has a clear obligation to find Posada, detain him and send him back to Venezuela to answer those charges

But, wouldn’t you like to see Posada go on trial here in Cuba?
We don’t want to give people any excuse not to bring him to justice.

We made that decision a long time ago. He was being tried in Venezuela as the result of an international agreement between Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Cuba and Venezuela. I participated in drafting that agreement.

At the time I was Cuba’s ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago. We met in Port of Spain to analyze where to try those people. It was a Cuban airplane but the victims were not only Cubans, but also Guyanese and from other nations. The incident took place near Barbados, and the assassins were two Venezuelans arrested in Trinidad and Tobago and imprisoned in Trinidad.

We agreed that the trial should be held in Venezuela for a number of reasons. First, Venezuela does not have the death penalty while the rest of the countries do. They were mostly Venezuelans or residents of Venezuela like Posada Carilles and a man named Orlando Bosch who now resides in Miami. The action was clearly planned in Caracas.

His lawyer says that extraditing him to Venezuela would be tantamount to his client receiving a death sentence.
It is completely false that he could be executed. As I said, Venezuela does not have the death sentence. If he were finally found guilty, he would serve time.

You mentioned that your government delivered a formal appeal to the U.S. State Department.
Two actually. We delivered a diplomatic note here in Havana to the U.S. Interests Section and another one in Washington to the State Department.

What are you asking for?
First to tell the truth. Recognize the facts. Acknowledge that Posada Carilles is in the U.S. He has friends in the U.S. paying his lawyer and appearing on TV describing how he made it to the U.S. How can the U.S. government continue to claim that it has no evidence that Posada is there?

Second, since the 1970s we’ve asked for cooperation in the investigation of the terrorist bombing of our airplane. For decades, the U.S. government has refused.

When Posada’s associate, Orlando Bosch, entered the U.S. in the late eighties, the Attorney General determined that he was inadmissible due to his terrorist actions. In the Attorney General’s document, he said that law enforcement agencies possessed secret evidence regarding the attack on the airplane.

This means that the U.S. has evidence of that crime but they never shared it with anyone. At the time the bombing took place, it was a moral obligation. Now, it is a legal obligation according to Security Council Resolution 1373.

What has been the response from the U.S. government?
Silence. They continue to say they have no evidence he is in the U.S.

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