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Cuban Militant Likely To Face Trial

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The Associated Press

Published: August 15, 2008

EL PASO, Texas - A federal appeals court on Thursday ordered Cuban militant Luis Posada Carriles to stand trial in El Paso on immigration fraud charges.

A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled that Posada, an 80-year-old anti-Castro militant, should stand trial on charges that he lied to federal authorities in his 2005 bid to become a U.S. citizen.

The criminal case against Posada had been dismissed last year when El Paso-based U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone ruled that the government engaged in trickery and deceit by using a naturalization interview to build a case against Posada.

Felipe Millan, one of Posada's lawyers in El Paso, said Posada's legal team was reviewing the decision and would decide on a course of action afterward.

Came To United States In 2005

In an e-mailed statement to The Associated Press, Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd said, "We're pleased with the ruling and will proceed forward as appropriate."

The Cuban-born citizen of Venezuela is wanted in the South American country on charges that he orchestrated the 1976 bombing of a Cuban jetliner. He has denied any wrongdoing.

Posada was first arrested on a civil immigration violation in May 2005 after sneaking into the country from Mexico about two months earlier.

Posada, a former CIA operative and U.S. Army officer, has claimed that he was brought across the border into Texas by a smuggler, but federal authorities have alleged that he actually sailed from Mexico to Florida.

Deportation Issues

In January 2007, a federal grand jury indicted Posada in the immigration fraud case after prosecutors argued that he lied about how he got into the United States in 2005 and other facts about his past.

Posada, who has a pending deportation order, was released from jail in April 2007 and has been living with his family in Miami.

An immigration judge has ruled that he cannot be sent to Venezuela or Cuba because of fears he would be tortured.

No other country has been willing to let Posada in.

Cardone threw out the case in May 2007, criticizing the government's tactics.

The appeals judges, however, found that because Posada initiated the naturalization proceeding, the government was obliged to provide an interview and investigation.

The court also concluded that a review of Posada's interview and documents in the case appeared to show that the naturalization interview was above board.

A new court date in El Paso has not yet been set.

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