Posada Carriles: A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

Some call him a dissident, others a veteran fighter, or an anti-Castro
activist. Far less often used are the titles of agent or CIA informant.

This "curious" detail is not as formal as it seems, as it hides the
true nature of this dangerous character. The press in Florida,
completely shackled by the rightwing Cuban American sector, prefer to
present him in the best case scenario as an "old, sick and inoffensive
man" whose most serious crime is reduced in having lied to federal
immigration authorities about his illegal entry into the US.

The deliberateness of this omission becomes obvious with a quick look
at Posada Carriles extensive and diverse criminal record, which brings
to mind a number of nouns to characterize this self-confessed criminal.

Nouns such as torturer and executioner could be used because these were
his main occupation for years at the service of the DISIP in Venezuela,
when under the name of Comisario Basilio he tortured countless
revolutionaries.

He can also be called a drug trafficker, as he helped organize
Washington?s dirty war against Nicaragua?s Sandinista government. A job
that combined with arms trafficking to supply the contras in a bloody
conflict that resulted in the deaths of thousands.

Nor would it be an exaggeration to call him a frustrated mercenary,
when he enlisted in the invasion organized by the White House against
Cuba in April 1961. However, the vessel he was on board decided to turn
back after they were met with the overwhelming presence of Cubans ready to protect their homeland.

The noun blackmailer could apply to the time when Posada was unhappy
with the Cuban American National Foundation after the terrorist
organization denied the criminal new sums of money. In retaliation,
Posada spilt the beans during an interview with New York Times
journalist Louise Bardach, talking about his links to that Miami based
organization carrying out terrorist bombing attacks against Cuban
tourism facilities, one that resulted in the killing of an Italian
tourist Fabio Di Celmo.

Posada Carriles can also be called a sadist after his affirmation that
after his carrying out his crimes that resulted in the deaths of
innocent people he would "sleep like a baby." Or when attempting to
justify the assassination of Fabio Di Celmo he boasted "The Italian
tourist was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

And how to characterize someone who coldly and peacefully organized the
bombing of a commercial airliner with 73 people on board in 1976 and
attempted to do the same at the University of Panama where hundreds of
students were participating in a Solidarity with Cuba event with the
presence of President Fidel Castro.

The fact that Posada Carriles is not credited with another 800 to 1,000
dead It is thanks to the efficiency of the Cuban intelligence service
which discovered the plot and offered timely, detailed information to
Panamanian authorities to thwart the plan.

Now free in Miami waiting a May 11 court appearance for simply
violating US immigration laws, Posada Carriles is being dressed up by
the mass media in sheep clothing.