A reader writes:
Miami Herald reports (only in their Spanish language edition) on 1/4/2006 that Posada Carriles is perhaps soon to be released from detention by US Immigration, with no action taken by the Justice Department on the extradition requests by Venezuela.
There has been no known English-language coverage in the US!
One of the Venezuelan lawyers has commented publicly following the Herald’s quiet report.
This isn’t a case I’ve followed beyond reading the accounts in the local papers, so I’m afraid I don’t feel very well informed about it. But given that there indeed don’t seem to have been many reports about recent developments in the English language press (outside of the Cuban media, which doesn’t really count for these purposes), it seemed worth mentioning.
I think its inaccurate to say that no action was taken re: Venezuela’s extradition request. Apparently, the Immigration judge has prohibited deporting Posada to Cuba or Venezuela….
does anyone have any information on that particular ruling?
Paul, You’re partly right.
The judge ordered deportation to a country other than Cuba or Venezuela. That, however, was related to the illegal entrance by Posada to the USA.
The separate issue, the Venezuelan government request for extradition of this proud terrorist, has indeed been ignored.
What a surprise that Malkin doesn’t comment on this case. An illegal alien terrorist who the government won’t deport and might release should be her worst nightmare. You don’t think she might be a hypocrite do you?
I’m a student at Miami working on a law review article on the UN Convention Against Torture as applied to suspected terrorists and I’m using the Posada hearing as a background. It is surprising how little coverage this has been getting… although maybe not so since it is an extremly hypocritical decision that severely undermines the credibility of the US Government. The “prosecutors” for the US Government presented no evidence or witnesses to counter the testimony of Posada’s friend that he would be tortured if sent to Venezuela. They basically handed the decision to the judge on a silver platter. I have been in contact with the lawyers from Eduardo Soto (the firm that represented Posada) in the hopes of receiving a copy of the IJ’s written decision. I also contacted the immigration court in Texas and they refused to send me a copy of the decision, which is not and will not be published. Here is some of the basis of the ruling that I have found so far:
“…that torture exists in Venezuela, although not on a widespread scale; that the notoriety of a case does not immunize the detainee from possible torture; that Cuban authorities, as a matter of official policy, engage in the systematic torture of detainees for the purposes of extracting information, intelligence and confessions; that existing cultural, political, and economic ties between Cuba and Venezuela make the case of the respondent problematic in that it appears plausible that Cuban agents may be allowed to interrogate the respondent while in the custody of Venezuelan authorities; that it is more likely than not that the Cuban agents would subject the respondent to torture as this is part of their interrogation technique; that there is nothing in the record to suggest that the Venezuelan authorities would prohibit this practice, and thus would acquiesce in the torture of the respondent by Cuban agents.” (Bruce Zagaris: U.S. COURT BARS DEPORTATION OF TERRORIST SUSPECT TO CUBA OR VENEZUELA. 21 NO. 12 Int’l Enforcement L. Rep. 487)
You stated in your post that there has been no known English-language coverage of the Posada case in the United States. However, on January 7th the Miami Herald (at least the online version) ran an article providing a basic update about the case and detailing the information the ICE has requested Posada produce in support of his release. Here is the link to the article: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/13569715.htm