“The world is watching”

In Havana, Luis Posada Carriles is being tried by contempt of court, a Cuban-born citizen of Venezuela who has spent most of his life in the service of Washington. Meanwhile, in El Paso, Texas, Posada Carriles himself was resisting efforts by the Venezuelan authorities to extradite him to stand trial for his participation in the blowing-up of a Cuban airliner in 1976 that killed 73 people. Such attack was plotted in Venezuela and took the lives of citizens from that country. That is why this case is under the law of Caracas.
Posada Carriles entered illegally the United States from Mexico, where he had been resident. His arrest led the Venezuelan government to officially demand his extradition. When Posada was active in Venezuela, it was a military dictatorship and client state of Washington. Today, the situation in the country is very different, since there is an erratic regime but progressive whose fall would come third in the Bush administration wish-list, behind only the detention of bin Laden and Castro’s fall. Unfortunately for Washington, it is not as easy to remove elected governments as it was in the 70’s. Besides, it is too risky to destabilize an oil-exporting nation. Such critical detail could weigh in Posada Carriles’ case.
Meanwhile, the relationship between Cuba and Venezuela grows ever stronger. However, if Posada Carriles is not extradited, for many countries the war on terror would be an evidence of continuing double standards.