This statement was issued by the National Committee to Free the Cuban Five on April 8.
In
El Paso today, following a 13-week trial in which the evidence against
him was overwhelming, notorious terrorist Luis Posada Carriles was
acquitted by a jury after a shockingly short three hours of
deliberation.
The U.S. government has been at war against the
Cuban people since they carried out a revolution in 1959. As a CIA
employee and part of that war, Posada Carriles committed many acts of
terrorism against the Cuban people and others.
Today Posada walks free in a mockery of justice, while the Cuban Five
anti-terrorists are still imprisoned for almost 13 years.
If
the U.S. had really wanted a conviction of Luis Posada Carriles on his
real crimes of terrorism, it would have been easily achieved. But the
U.S. government chose to try Posada for the ridiculously minor charges
of perjury and immigration fraud.
This is why the National
Committee, along with the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition and local activists in
El Paso held a “Peoples Tribunal” and protest before the start of the
federal trial, to expose Posada’s crimes of terrorism to the world.
Today’s acquittal, together with the continued incarceration of the
Cuban Five heroes who risked their lives to prevent acts of terrorism by
Posada’s allies, is a clear indication that the U.S. war against the
Cuban people and Cuban revolution continues. The National Committee
to Free the Cuban Five is outraged by this travesty of “justice,” as are
all supporters of Cuba and the Cuban Five.
The verdict of “not
guilty” in Luis Posada Carriles’s trial in El Paso does not absolve him
of his terrorist crimes. And the struggle to bring Posada and his
accomplices to justice does not end with today’s verdict.
Demand Posada’s Extradition!
Act today to demand justice for the 73 plane bombing victims, for Fabio di Celmo, and for all the victims of U.S.-backed anti-Cuba terrorism!
We
urge everyone to contact the U.S. State Department and demand the
immediate extradition of Posada to Venezuela, where he is wanted for the
murder of 73 people in the mid-air bombing of Cubana Flight 455.
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520
202-647-4000Contact us today, (information below) to find out how you can get involved in the campaign to free the Cuban Five anti-terrorist heroes.
You can help in the campaign for justice!
Organize showings of the documentary, “Posada Carriles: Terrorism Made in the U.S.A” to educate the public;
To gain greater insight into the travesty of the El Paso trial, we recommend that you read the excellent daily reports of the process by José Pertierra, who attended every day of the trial. He is the attorney representing the Venezuelan government in the extradition order.
Watch the excellent speech by Brian Becker, National Coordinator of the ANSWER Coalition, at the El Paso People’s Tribunal, and the complete event.
