Apr 19, 2007 11:12 pm US/Eastern
Militant Posada Carriles Arrives In Miami
DL
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
Anti-Castro millitant Luis Posada Carriles arrived in Miami Thursday afternoon after bonding out of jail in Texas.
Posada Carriles was released Thursday from a jail in New Mexico after posting a $250 thousand bond, and awaits trial on immigration fraud charges. He arrived at Miami International Airport after 4pm, and is on his way to join his wife.
The former CIA operative, who admitted to entering the country illegally from Mexico two years ago, was indicted on charges of lying to immigration authorities while trying to become a naturalized U.S. citizen. Federal prosecutors had fought to keep Posada jailed until his trial, but an appeals court in New Orleans rejected their plea.
The 79-year old Posada is wanted in Cuba in connection with the 1976 bombing of a Cuban jetliner that killed 73 people, a charge Posada denies.
Posada was arrested in Venezuela a few days after the bombing and escaped from prison there in 1985 before a civilian trial in the case was completed.
In May 2005, he was picked up in Miami for entering the U.S. illegally from Mexico. During a hearing on the matter, an immigration judge ruled that he cannot be sent to Cuba or Venezuela, citing fears that he would be tortured.
Posada, who trained with the CIA for the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion, served in the U.S. Army in the early 1960s. In 1965, he allegedly plotted to overthrow the Guatemalan government and blow up a Soviet or Cuban freighter in Mexico. Two years later, according to the FBI, he moved to Venezuela and wound up running its counterintelligence agency until he set up his own security firm in the mid-1970s.
In 1973, Posada was investigated by the CIA for allegedly smuggling cocaine, but was later cleared.
In South Florida, Posada is hailed as a hero by many in the Cuban exile community for his efforts to rid Cuba of the communist regime, but others blame him of being a terrorist.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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