Testimony before the House Foreign Affairs

Page 1

LUIS POSADA CARRILES and the BOMBING OF CUBANA FLIGHT #455 Testimony of Peter Kornbluh Senior Analyst, National Security Archive Before The House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight November 15, 2007 MR. CHAIRMAN, REP. ROHRABACHER, AND MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTTEE: I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR HOLDING THIS IMPORTANT HEARING. AND I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO TESTIFY ON WHAT HISTORY RECORDS AS THE FIRST MAJOR ACT OF INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM INVOLVING A CIVILIAN AIRLINER IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE—AN ATROCITY THAT MORE THAN 30 YEARS LATER STILL DEMANDS AN ACCOUNTING. LIKE YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN, I AM CONCERNED ABOUT HOW THE CASE OF LUIS POSADA CARRILES—AKA “COMISARIO BASILIO,” “BAMBI,” "RAMON MEDINA," AND “SOLO,”—HAS BEEN HANDLED OVER THE LAST TWO AND A HALF YEARS BY OUR GOVERNMENT. BY ANY OBJECTIVE STANDARD, POSADA IS ONE OF THE TEN MOST PROLIFIC PURVEYORS OF POLITICAL VIOLENCE IN CONTEMPORARY HISTORY. YET, AS THE UNITED STATES FINDS ITSELF WAGING A WAR ON INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM, A MAN WHO OUR OWN JUSTICE DEPARTMENT HAS RECENTLY CALLED ‘A TERRORIST ALIEN’ SO FAR HAS BEEN CHARGED ONLY WITH IMMIGRATION FRAUD AFTER ILLEGALLY ENTERING THE COUNTRY. HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE? INDEED, HOW IS IT POSSIBLE THAT A MAN WHO OUR OWN CUSTOMS AND IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT AGENCY HAS DETERMINED TO “POSE A DANGER TO BOTH THE COMMUNITY AND THE NATIONAL SECURITY OF THE UNITED STATES” IS TODAY LIVING FREELY IN MIAMI, FLORIDA?

1


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.