This article first appeared in Spanish on Feb. 22 in Areitodigital, the online periodical edited by the writer.
For decades, Miami has been the lair of terrorists. Of the terrorists of the Cuban American extreme rightwing. Terrorists originally recruited, trained, financed and directed by the authorities of United States intelligence services with the intention of destroying the Cuban revolution. Terrorists whom federal authorities have protected, granting them impunity to walk freely in evident violation of the law.
For example, Orlando Bosch, repulsive confessed terrorist who publicly, on radio and television, brags of his horrific
 Andrés Gómez |
Santiago Álvarez and Osvaldo Mitat who, according to federal authorities, illegally entered Posada Carilles in the country on board the Santina and who have been in jail since Jan. 17, for a little over a year, charged with having an arsenal of weapons, ammunition and explosives. They handed over to the authorities another arsenal of weapons and explosives, in their possession, which included machine guns, C-4 explosives, dynamite, detonators and grenade launchers, even larger than the first arsenal. Their purpose was to reach an agreement with the prosecutor to lower their sentences for possession of the first arsenal.
In the midst of an international campaign against terrorism by this administration, as a result of the events of Sept. 11, 2001 in New York and Washington to find terrorists, it has gone to war against Iraq and Afghanistan bringing devastation to the people—on the other side of the world—wars which have cost the lives of more than 3,000 U.S. soldiers while the federal prosecutor in Miami is making deals to produce ridiculously low sentences (for possession of the first arsenal, Alvarez and Mitat were sentenced to only 4 and 3 years, respectively) for handing over the second arsenal of weapons, ammunition and explosives they stored in a place in our city.
Aren’t these decisions by the federal attorney outrageous? Don’t they demonstrate special treatment by the federal government of these terrorists and assassins? Don’t they demonstrate that these agreements and strange sentences are a conspiracy between the federal government and these terrorists?
It seems that when these arsenals of weapons and explosives are intended against the Cuban people to cause death and desolation, it doesn’t matter. They are forgiven for having purchased and stored them here supposedly without the knowledge of federal authorities.
Is this how the government intends to strengthen international collaboration in its campaign against terrorism, which is the pillar of national security? Also, what guarantee have the federal authorities that these weapons and explosives were not going to be used by these terrorists and cohorts here in Miami against innocent persons, which has already occurred several times?
Then, there is the case, among others, of the heinous terrorist, Luis Posada Carilles. Declassified documents of the past two years demonstrate that, in 1976, US intelligence services had prior knowledge that Posada Carilles and his cohort, Orlando Bosch, after having killed the former Chilean ambassador, Orlando Letelier in the U.S. capital, were planning to blow up a civilian plane of Cubana de Aviación, that they took to fruition on Oct. 6 of that same year killing the 73 passengers and crew aboard.
A month after Posada was finally arrested in Miami, in May 2005, for having entered the country illegally; the Venezuelan government requested his extradition in accordance with the extradition treaty signed in 1922 between the United States and Venezuela, to continue the legal process for his responsibility in the death of the 73 persons aboard the Cubana de Aviación plane.
The federal government has only charged Posada with illegal entry into the United States in 2005. The Bush administration has not responded to the extradition request by Venezuela. Nor has it made any declaration about the terrorist actions committed by Posada, an old and valued agent of the CIA, especially regarding the responsibility for the deaths of the 73 persons aboard the Cuban flight.
Two international treaties of which the United States are signatories (the Convention on Civil Aeronautics signed in 1971 and the Suppression of Terrorist acts of 1997) require the federal government, if for some reason does not extradite Posada to Venezuela, to be tried for his crimes, “without any exception, whether he committed or not the crime in its territory to present him, without delay to the competent authorities to be tried according to the laws of the State.” And to be tried as if the crime were committed in this State.
The federal government has done nothing to comply with the laws and international treaties regarding the terrorist Posada Carilles for the crimes of genocide he committed. Federal authorities have done nothing to harm the decades of impunity, here in Miami, they have offered these terrorists.
Then, Bush’s statement in April of 2005 is confirmed: “Anyone who protects a terrorist, who supports a terrorist, who shelters a terrorist, then this person is as guilty as the terrorist himself.”
Translated for CubaNews by Ana Portela and edited by Walter Lippmann.
