Press conference demands extradition
of anti-Cuban terrorist

Send a letter to President Bush & Congress today!
See below for details

Miami, Florida, April 21 - Today, the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition was one of the keynote speakers in a Miami press conference to denounce the asylum petition of notorious terrorist Luis Posada Carriles, who is widely suspected of entering the United States with the help of his longtime handlers in the White House and the CIA. He arrived under cover in late March and his supporters in the ultra-right anti-Cuban community are demanding that asylum be granted because he was a CIA agent.

Among the news media that attended were Telemundo, Fox TV, Agence France-Presse, NBC affiliate Ch. 51, Mexican agency Notimex, the Miami Herald, the Sun-Sentinel, and Telemiami 21.

Opening the event was Andres Gomez, coordinator of the Antonio Maceo Brigade and leader of the Cuban progressive community in Miami. He said, "And now we have the case of Luis Posada Carriles. We have to remind the president and the rest of public opinion of this country and the world what the United States government claims is its war against terrorism. For how long will the Bush administration continue covering up, protecting and supporting these terrorists." He called for the immediate arrest of Posada, saying the U.S. authorities know full well where Posada is hiding.

Gloria La Riva of the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition told the press that over 10,000 letters have been sent to Bush and Congress from the A.N.S.W.E.R. web alert, demanding no asylum and for his immediate arrest. "Miami is the only city in the world that would shelter Posada, but Miami is part of the United States and the people of the U.S., including the people of Miami, are demanding justice for the victims who were murdered, disabled and maimed by the acts that Posada has committed."

Max Lesnik, well-known Cuban political figure, said, "We are witnesses to this terrorism because we suffered from it ourselves. When I directed the magazine Replica, 11 bombs were exploded in our offices not far from here. Those bombs were placed simply because the extreme-right Cubans considered that we had no right to express our point of view."

A statement from the National Lawyers Guild was read at the press conference. The National Lawyers Guild President Michael Avery stated in the written press release, "President Bush has said that in his view any government that harbors terrorists is complicit in murder and equally guilty of terrorist crimes. Allowing Posada into the U.S. and entertaining an asylum request from a confessed terrorist is an open acknowledgement of accomplice liability in the crimes against Cuba."

The A.N.S.W.E.R. statement (see below) is being widely circulated by many progressive organizations in the United States and around the world. See below to send a letter to President Bush & your Congressional representative today and for more information about how you can help to keep up the momentum.

Urgent Alert - Take Action Now!

Stop the terrorist Luis Posada Carriles
from gaining asylum in the United States

Support Venezuela and Cuba’s demands on Bush
to extradite the murderer Luis Posada to Venezuela.

Tell George W. Bush and Congress:
No asylum for the fascist criminal in the United States!

The A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition has set-up an easy-to-use way to send Bush and Congress a message. Use the link below to tell them: "No safe-haven for the terrorist Posada in the U.S."

On April 12 Luis Posada Carriles, the notorious anti-Cuba terrorist and killer, appealed for asylum in the United States through his attorneys in Miami. The planner of terrorist acts that have killed dozens of Cubans and other people, Posada was in hiding in Central America for the last seven months after being prematurely released from jail by Panama’s right-wing puppet president Mireya Moscoso at the behest of the Bush administration.

Posada was convicted in Panama after being caught in November 2000 with 33 pounds of C-4 explosives intended for assassinating Cuban President Fidel Castro. Now, the U.S. government is entertaining inviting this man, who poses such a great and vicious danger, to receive safe haven from prosecution in the United States.

Undoubtedly assisted by the U.S. government to enter the United States, Posada has been in Miami since the end of March. His three other conspirators, Pedro Remón, Gaspar Jiménez Escobedo and Guillermo Novo Sampol, were also pardoned in Panama and flew into Miami last August. They are implicated in several murders in the United States, including the 1976 Washington DC car-bombing that killed Chilean Orlando Letelier and American Ronnie Moffitt.

Posada was a CIA agent in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and possibly to the present. He was trained in explosives and sabotage at the notorious School of the Americas in the CIA’s "Operation 40" for the Bay of Pigs invasion.

What are some of his other crimes? Posada and his accomplice Orlando Bosch were the masterminds of the bombing of Cubana Airlines flight 455 on October 6, 1976 that killed 73 people. Posada and Bosch plotted the crime from Venezuela.

The Justice Department moved to deport Bosch from the United States in 1989. In the deportation order, U.S. Asst. Attorney General Joseph D. Whitley said: "For 30 years Bosch has been resolute and unwavering in his advocacy of terrorist violence. … His actions have been those of a terrorist, unfettered by laws or human decency, threatening and inflicting violence without regard to the identity of his victims."

These words hold true for Posada, his partner-in-crime.

However, Bush Sr. overrode the deportation order in 1990. Bosch lives in Miami.

Posada bragged to the New York Times in an interview (July 12 & 13, 1998) that he directed the 1997 bombings of Havana hotels. A 32-year-old Italian tourist, Fabio Di Celmo, was killed at the Copacabana hotel.

These are only some of the shocking crimes carried out against the Cuban and other peoples.

While in Venezuela in the 1970s, Posada oversaw the killing of Venezuelan leftists as head of the Intelligence and Prevention Services Division (DISIP) of the national police. In the 1980s Posada commanded the supply of munitions to the Nicaraguan contras from the CIA’s Ilopango airbase in El Salvador.

Today, the presence of Posada, Bosch and other terrorists in Miami is proof that the U.S. government is fully behind the terror attacks on Cuba.

Since the 1959 Cuban revolution, more than 3,400 Cuban people have died by violent attacks perpetrated on the island by anti-Cuban paramilitary groups that operate freely in Miami.

It is time for justice for the victims of Posada’s crimes. Peace-loving people in the U.S. and all who believe in justice must make it clear that Posada is not welcome here, and we must demand that this government reject his asylum claim.

The fact that the Bush Administration and the CIA are clearing the way for Posada to take up residence in the U.S. is evidence of the extreme hypocrisy and outright lie of Bush's so-called "war on terror." They have engaged in a calculated and cynical manipulation of the term to claim to be fighting against "terrorism" when in truth, they are waging a political war for conquest and empire.

We urge all A.N.S.W.E.R. supporters to send a letter to Bush and Congress now to say:

1. No asylum for Posada
2. Honor the extradition demand of Venezuela

A.N.S.W.E.R. has set up an easy-to-use mechanism to facilitate sending a quick email to George W. Bush and the Congressional Representative in your District and Senators in your state with your demands. Several members, including William Delahunt (D-MA) and Jim McDermott (D-WA), have protested Posada’s asylum petition.

We have provided a sample letter, but you can customize your message to get your point across. Please take a moment now, by clicking here to send a message to Bush and Congress.

 Funds are Urgently Needed

We need your help to keep up this important work. The A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition has always stepped forward at times of great urgency and we have been gratified by the enormous response by so many supporters and people of conscience who take the time and effort to make their voices heard. Please support this work today - these initiatives cannot continue without your financial support. Click here now to make a credit card contribution through our secure server, where you can also get information on how to contribute by check.

A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition
Act Now to Stop War & End Racism
http://www.ANSWERcoalition.org
[email protected]
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For media inquiries, call 202-544-3389.