The Posada Files: El Paso Judge to Determine Whether Bay of Pigs Was Terrorist Act

We turn now to the latest in the case of Cuban-born former CIA operative Luis Posada Carriles, the man identified by Havana as a leading anti-Castro terrorist. Posada has a deportation hearing today. El Paso Immigration Judge William Abbott will look at whether Posada entered the country illegally in March.

Posada is wanted internationally for a slew of crimes against the Cuban government and president Fidel Castro. The Venezuelan government is currently demanding Posada's extradition. So far Washington has refused to turn him over, saying that Caracas is in the service of Fidel Castro.

Also at stake in today's hearing is whether the failed 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba should be considered an act of U.S. terrorism. Judge Abbott asked lawyers in the case to prepare briefs on whether Posada provided material support for terrorist activities. He participated in the Bay of Pigs invasion as a CIA operative. Posada is also accused of orchestrating the 1976 bombing of a Cubana Airlines plane, killing 73 people including the entire Cuban Olympic fencing team.

Protests in support of Posada's extradition are being held around the United States and Canada today to coincide with the hearing. We go now to three of the participants in the demonstration outside the El Paso courthouse.

* Gloria La Riva, with the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition. She is a lead organizer for today's protests.
* Roseanne Nenninger, sister of Raymond Persaud, who died in the 1976 bombing of the Cubana airliner while he was on his way to attend medical school in Cuba. She was 11-years-old at the time of Raymond's death.
* Almudena Bernabeu, attorney with the San Francisco-based Center for Justice and Accountability. She is representing the Persaud family in a possible lawsuit against Posada in relation to the death of Raymond Persaud.

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