Humberto Fontova: Is Luis Posada Carriles a terrorist?
[Humberto Fontova is the author of "Exposing the Real Che Guevara and the Useful Idiots Who Idolize Him."]
Two years ago, a Cuban exile and former CIA operative named Luis Posada Carriles entered the U.S. and was promptly arrested for illegal entry.
Mr. Posada had volunteered for the Bay of Pigs Invasion, and later joined the U.S. army emerging as a 2nd Lieutenant. After retiring from the U.S. Army, he worked for the CIA putting out Soviet-started fires throughout Latin America. Among other projects, Posada helped the Reagan team squash communism in Nicaragua by helping arms and train the Nicaraguan Contras.
A few years later, in Guatemala, a Castro-appointed death squad ambushed Posada, riddled him with bullets, and left him crippled.
Let's cut Mr Posada some slack for his arrest upon entering the U.S. The man (77 years old at the time) had been out of the country for a while fighting America's enemies and didn't realize that to beat an illegal immigration rap what you do is March on May Day bashing the U.S, amidst a sea of foreign flags and waving a Che Guevara banner.
"Being America's enemy might be dangerous," famously said Henry Kissinger, "But being America's friend is fatal." Luis Posada-Carriles seemed a shining testimonial to Kissinger's quip.
But then on May 9, Federal Judge Kathleen Cardone threw out the case against him. "Fraud, deceit, and trickery" where among the milder terms she used to describe the Justice Department's railroading of Posada, a 79-year-old crippled man who had already been jailed eight years in Venezuela by a Castro-influenced regime and now for two years by the nation he served in uniform.
Between Posada's entry into the U.S. two years ago and his prompt arrest, Fidel Castro had stuck his fingers in his mouth and issued a sharp whistle of summons.
Media ears from New York to London, and from Los Angeles to Washington D.C., immediately jerked up. A second whistle beckoned and Castro's propaganda ministry was promptly mobbed by eager "reporters," their tongues out and their tails wagging frantically. In seconds, Castro's eunuch propagandists started handing out their puppy treats: Castro-edited press releases and talking-points concerning Mr Luis Posada-Carriles, "the most vicious terrorist in the hemisphere!"".
Let's step back and look at this: a Stalinist regime had issued its version of events. A truth had been revealed by a man who in April of 1959 proclaimed the following to another media throng: "I am not a communist for three reasons: Communism is a dictatorship and for my entire life I have been against dictatorships. Furthermore, communism means hatred and class struggle, and I am completely against such a philosophy! And finally because communism opposes God and the Church. I say this to set your minds and spirits at rest."
The intervening half-century witnessed many events that might have prompted mainstream journalists and commentators to be a tad careful when accepting this regime's press releases at face value, right?
"Nonsense!" snorted all those "Gallant Crusaders for the Truth " (Columbia School of Journalism's definition of its students) as they galloped to their word processors and mics.
Oh, these "reporters" altered the wording of the Castro press release a bit. "Documents link Posada." "Posada is accused." etc. But from the Los Angeles Times to The Washington Post, from the U.K Guardian to The New York Times, from the Toledo Blade to the Boston Globe and from The Associated Press to Reuters, the implication is clear: "Luis Posada Carriles is a CIA-trained terrorist who masterminded the bombing of a Cuban Airliner in 1976 that killed 73 innocent passengers when it crashed after lifting from the island of Barbados."
Even the normally cagey Dick Morris got sucked into the media frenzy, writing that "Posada-Carriles richly deserves to face a Castro firing squad."
You will search these media stories in vain, however, for any mention by these hard-nosed investigative sleuths and pundits that the accusations against Posada Carriles regarding the plane bombing have already had their day in court — and that an independent judiciary has fully exculpated Luis Posada Carriles of the crime. More important still, this court ruling found Posada innocent of any material or even intellectual culpability for the crime.
Again, don't bother looking for this in The New York Times, Reuters, or The Associated Press — or anyplace else in the mainstream press.
None wants to lose the Havana bureaus or seats to the funeral extravaganza when Castro finally croaks.
The evidence examined by Venezuelan judge José Moros González in 1980 to declare Posada totally innocent was so overwhelming, authoritative, and conclusive that it's small wonder the Castroite propaganda apparatus (and its ever-faithful media and think-tank auxiliaries from London to Madrid to New York to Washington D.C.) has been so frantic to squash it and to lead all "reporters" off its trail. (Not that the latter presents the slightest problem for Fidel Castro.)
Among this evidence was a 200-page report from the Forensic Explosives Laboratory of Britain's Royal Armament Research & Development Establishment, (ARDE) considered the most authoritative source on earth for investigations of this kind. This is the agency that helped crack the July 2005 London subway bombings.
The investigation into the Cubana Airline's explosion was commissioned and the report issued — not by "Cuban-American right-wing crackpots!" — but by the government of Barbados, the nation from where the plane had departed shortly before the explosion. The investigators and authorities from Barbados retrieved bodies, baggage, and portions of the plane found at the crash site. The investigation took the British agency two months and was headed by the agency's top expert, Eric Newton, a 33-year veteran in these type of investigations.
The findings from the world's top investigative agency on these matter's methodically demolished every item of the Castroite version of the crime — and, hence, their (and their media/pundit accomplices') slanders against Luis Posada Carriles. Among the highlights:
The ARDE investigators even offered to raise the entire plane from the sea's bottom.."No! No!" shrieked Castro. "Why that would . . . would . . . um . . ." This was among the few times in his life that Fidel Castro was actually stuttering. But soon he got a hold of himself and started with the little song that it was "a sacred burial site for the heroic martyrs on board and should be left alone . . . blah, blah, blah."
In fact, he knew good and well the raising would make further mincemeat of his case.
Also, have any of these "Gallant Crusaders for the Truth" informed you that a confession to the plane bombing in fact exists? And that it's a mea-culpa in a deposition in Dade County's 11th Judicial court dated April, 5 1982 — and that it's from a Castro double-agent name Ricardo Morales Navarette?
Didn't think so.
Read entire article at Newsmax
Two years ago, a Cuban exile and former CIA operative named Luis Posada Carriles entered the U.S. and was promptly arrested for illegal entry.
Mr. Posada had volunteered for the Bay of Pigs Invasion, and later joined the U.S. army emerging as a 2nd Lieutenant. After retiring from the U.S. Army, he worked for the CIA putting out Soviet-started fires throughout Latin America. Among other projects, Posada helped the Reagan team squash communism in Nicaragua by helping arms and train the Nicaraguan Contras.
A few years later, in Guatemala, a Castro-appointed death squad ambushed Posada, riddled him with bullets, and left him crippled.
Let's cut Mr Posada some slack for his arrest upon entering the U.S. The man (77 years old at the time) had been out of the country for a while fighting America's enemies and didn't realize that to beat an illegal immigration rap what you do is March on May Day bashing the U.S, amidst a sea of foreign flags and waving a Che Guevara banner.
"Being America's enemy might be dangerous," famously said Henry Kissinger, "But being America's friend is fatal." Luis Posada-Carriles seemed a shining testimonial to Kissinger's quip.
But then on May 9, Federal Judge Kathleen Cardone threw out the case against him. "Fraud, deceit, and trickery" where among the milder terms she used to describe the Justice Department's railroading of Posada, a 79-year-old crippled man who had already been jailed eight years in Venezuela by a Castro-influenced regime and now for two years by the nation he served in uniform.
Between Posada's entry into the U.S. two years ago and his prompt arrest, Fidel Castro had stuck his fingers in his mouth and issued a sharp whistle of summons.
Media ears from New York to London, and from Los Angeles to Washington D.C., immediately jerked up. A second whistle beckoned and Castro's propaganda ministry was promptly mobbed by eager "reporters," their tongues out and their tails wagging frantically. In seconds, Castro's eunuch propagandists started handing out their puppy treats: Castro-edited press releases and talking-points concerning Mr Luis Posada-Carriles, "the most vicious terrorist in the hemisphere!"".
Let's step back and look at this: a Stalinist regime had issued its version of events. A truth had been revealed by a man who in April of 1959 proclaimed the following to another media throng: "I am not a communist for three reasons: Communism is a dictatorship and for my entire life I have been against dictatorships. Furthermore, communism means hatred and class struggle, and I am completely against such a philosophy! And finally because communism opposes God and the Church. I say this to set your minds and spirits at rest."
The intervening half-century witnessed many events that might have prompted mainstream journalists and commentators to be a tad careful when accepting this regime's press releases at face value, right?
"Nonsense!" snorted all those "Gallant Crusaders for the Truth " (Columbia School of Journalism's definition of its students) as they galloped to their word processors and mics.
Oh, these "reporters" altered the wording of the Castro press release a bit. "Documents link Posada." "Posada is accused." etc. But from the Los Angeles Times to The Washington Post, from the U.K Guardian to The New York Times, from the Toledo Blade to the Boston Globe and from The Associated Press to Reuters, the implication is clear: "Luis Posada Carriles is a CIA-trained terrorist who masterminded the bombing of a Cuban Airliner in 1976 that killed 73 innocent passengers when it crashed after lifting from the island of Barbados."
Even the normally cagey Dick Morris got sucked into the media frenzy, writing that "Posada-Carriles richly deserves to face a Castro firing squad."
You will search these media stories in vain, however, for any mention by these hard-nosed investigative sleuths and pundits that the accusations against Posada Carriles regarding the plane bombing have already had their day in court — and that an independent judiciary has fully exculpated Luis Posada Carriles of the crime. More important still, this court ruling found Posada innocent of any material or even intellectual culpability for the crime.
Again, don't bother looking for this in The New York Times, Reuters, or The Associated Press — or anyplace else in the mainstream press.
None wants to lose the Havana bureaus or seats to the funeral extravaganza when Castro finally croaks.
The evidence examined by Venezuelan judge José Moros González in 1980 to declare Posada totally innocent was so overwhelming, authoritative, and conclusive that it's small wonder the Castroite propaganda apparatus (and its ever-faithful media and think-tank auxiliaries from London to Madrid to New York to Washington D.C.) has been so frantic to squash it and to lead all "reporters" off its trail. (Not that the latter presents the slightest problem for Fidel Castro.)
Among this evidence was a 200-page report from the Forensic Explosives Laboratory of Britain's Royal Armament Research & Development Establishment, (ARDE) considered the most authoritative source on earth for investigations of this kind. This is the agency that helped crack the July 2005 London subway bombings.
The investigation into the Cubana Airline's explosion was commissioned and the report issued — not by "Cuban-American right-wing crackpots!" — but by the government of Barbados, the nation from where the plane had departed shortly before the explosion. The investigators and authorities from Barbados retrieved bodies, baggage, and portions of the plane found at the crash site. The investigation took the British agency two months and was headed by the agency's top expert, Eric Newton, a 33-year veteran in these type of investigations.
The findings from the world's top investigative agency on these matter's methodically demolished every item of the Castroite version of the crime — and, hence, their (and their media/pundit accomplices') slanders against Luis Posada Carriles. Among the highlights:
- The Castro-concocted version of the crime has the explosive device planted in the rear bathroom of the plane at Posada-Carriles' instigation by a Venezuelan who worked for him named Hernan Ricardo who boarded the plane on its previous stop in Trinidad and de-planed in Barbados.
- The "Cuban-American crackpot!" (Posada defense lawyers') version has the explosive device planted in the baggage compartment of the plane at the instigation of a Castro double-agent named Ricardo Morales Navarette while on a previous stop in Guyana.
-
The ARDE findings have the explosion coming from the baggage compartment of the plane. "It would have been impossible for an explosion in the plane's bathroom to cause the type of damage we found." Concluded the ARDE report. "The explosion definitely came from the baggage compartment."
-
The Castro-concocted version blaming Posada has C-4 as the explosive device.
-
The "Cuban-American crackpot!" version has commercial dynamite as the explosive device.
- The ARDE report found "no traces of any chemical found in C-4 explosives" and instead found traces of nitroglycerine, a component of commercial dynamite.
The ARDE investigators even offered to raise the entire plane from the sea's bottom.."No! No!" shrieked Castro. "Why that would . . . would . . . um . . ." This was among the few times in his life that Fidel Castro was actually stuttering. But soon he got a hold of himself and started with the little song that it was "a sacred burial site for the heroic martyrs on board and should be left alone . . . blah, blah, blah."
In fact, he knew good and well the raising would make further mincemeat of his case.
Also, have any of these "Gallant Crusaders for the Truth" informed you that a confession to the plane bombing in fact exists? And that it's a mea-culpa in a deposition in Dade County's 11th Judicial court dated April, 5 1982 — and that it's from a Castro double-agent name Ricardo Morales Navarette?
Didn't think so.