Court rules that government can't hold Posada until trial

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D8OIMI3G0.html


An appeals court on Tuesday denied the U.S. government's latest bid to keep anti-Castro Cuban militant Luis Posada Carriles jailed until his May trial on immigration fraud charges.

The decision by the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans reversed a decision last week to temporarily block Posada from being released from the Otero County, N.M., jail on $250,000 bond. Prosecutors won the temporary victory last week after appealing U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone's order setting Posada free. snip

The aging militant and former CIA operative was ordered deported in 2005. But a federal immigration judge in El Paso ruled that he could not be sent to Venezuela, where he is a naturalized citizen, or his native Cuba, because of fears that he could be tortured.

Governments of both countries want Posada extradited to Venezuela to face charges that he was in Caracas when he plotted the 1976 bombing of a Cuban jetliner, an attack that killed 73 people. snip

Posada, who was also a U.S. Army soldier and had a role in the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, had been fighting in federal court to force immigration authorities to kick him out of the country or set him free pending his ordered deportation. Several countries, including Mexico and Canada, have denied Posada entry.

[Blackhatjack]

1. Time to set up a pool.... How long before Posada is reported 'missing' ...n/t