WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Bill Delahunt today called on President George W. Bush to act quickly to ensure that alleged Cuban exile terrorist Luis Posada Carriles is certified as a terrorist under the Patriot Act and detained.   The Congressman’s demand came one day after a federal judge dismissed immigration charges against Posada, effectively freeing him and giving one of the Western Hemisphere’s most notorious killers sanctuary in the U.S.

“The world will conclude that this Administration has a double standard when it comes to fighting terrorism unless President Bush takes swift action to detain Posada,” Delahunt asserted today. 

Posada, a CIA-trained Cuban exile, has had a long and dramatic career of violence. The most infamous charge against him stems from his alleged masterminding of the 1976 mid-air bombing of a Cuban civilian airliner, which killed 73 people.  Posada was arrested and charged in Venezuela for the crime, but escaped from prison before he was convicted.  After years of hiding, Posada reappeared in Miami in 2005, and was detained on charges of illegally entering the U.S.  An immigration judge ruled that Posada could not be extradited to Venezuela or Cuba to stand trial, due to the risk that he might be tortured by either of those governments.

“Detaining him will prevent him from fleeing the country while the Administration determines how and where he can stand trial for his crimes“ said Congressman Delahunt, who just last week wrote to U.S Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez urging that Posada be certified a terrorist. “Yet the Administration managed to bungle an immigration case against him instead.”

“If the Administration does not avail itself of all legal avenues to detain this terrorist and bring him to justice,” said Delahunt, “it will send a message to the world that President Bush believes in the old adage that ‘one man’s terrorist is another’s freedom fighter’.  The consequences for our efforts to rally other nations to fight al Qaeda – especially in the Muslim world where some view Osama bin Laden as a similar hero – could be catastrophic.”

To read Delahunt's letter please click here.

For a printable version, please click here.

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