May 22, 2005 10:00 PM
Venezuela's Chavez to Reconsider U.S. Ties
By CHRISTOPHER TOOTHAKER
The Associated Press
CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez said Sunday that Venezuela would reconsider its diplomatic ties with Washington if the United States does not extradite a Cuban exile accused of plotting the 1976 bombing of a Cuban jet.
His statements came as a former U.S. prosecutor said he determined in a federal investigation that Luis Posada Carriles was at a 1976 meeting in the Dominican Republic where Cuban exile militants discussed plans to bomb a Cuban plane.
The information from former assistant U.S. attorney E. Lawrence Barcella Jr. could be used to convince an immigration judge to deny Posada U.S. asylum, The Miami Herald reported Sunday.
The ex-CIA operative is in U.S. custody awaiting a decision on whether he will be extradited to the South American country. He has denied taking part in the bombing.
"We can't rush things, but if the United States does not extradite Luis Posada Carriles we will be forced to reconsider our diplomatic ties," Chavez said on his weekly radio program. "We will have to consider whether it's worth having an embassy there, and whether it's worth the United States having an embassy here."
The 77-year-old is expected to request asylum at an immigration hearing June 13. He was charged Thursday with entering the U.S. illegally.
Venezuela wants to try the 77-year-old Cuban militant with murder and treason for the 1976 bombing, which tore apart the Cubana Airlines plane after it took off from Barbados.
Two men who worked for Posada allegedly planted the bomb and were sentenced to 20-year prison terms. Posada was acquitted twice and escaped from a Venezuelan prison in 1985 while prosecutors were appealing.
Posada has been acquitted twice in Venezuela of masterminding the Oct. 6 bombing that killed 73 people. He escaped from prison in 1985 pending an appeal by Venezuelan prosecutors.
Posada has denied taking part in the bombing.
A decision by U.S. authorities to charge Posada only with entering the country illegally has drawn sharp criticism from Chavez, who has accused the U.S. government of harboring a terrorist and trying to justify not turning him over.
Posada is expected to request asylum at an immigration hearing June 13. He was charged Thursday with entering the U.S. illegally, a move that could lead to his deportation.
