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Zero tolerance for terrorism
suspects
Editorial posted on Thu,
Apr. 21, 2005 in The
Miami Herald.
The United States must have zero tolerance
for terrorists. If there was any doubt about
this before Sept. 11, 2001, there is none
today. This is just as true in Iraq, Israel
or the United States. It's one of many reasons
why Luis Posada Carriles, an anti-Castro
militant with a long history of violence,
shouldn't be granted refuge here.
Granting Mr. Posada asylum would violate
U.S. asylum standards and damage our international
standing in the war against terrorism. The
lessons of 9/11 mustn't be forgotten: Violence
targeting civilian populations cannot be
justified no matter the cause.
Trained by the CIA
Like many other Cubans, Mr. Posada began
his struggle against Fidel Castro soon after
the revolutionary government began confiscating
private property and taking repressive measures.
He set off bombs in government buildings
in the middle of the night, hoping to sow
terror and oust Castro. Later in the 1960s,
he was trained in demolition and espionage
by the Central Intelligence Agency, which
also wanted to encourage insurrection on
the island.
Unlike most other anti-Castro Cubans, however,
Mr. Posada never renounced armed struggle
against the Castro regime. He stands accused
of masterminding the 1976 midair bombing
of a Cuban jetliner that killed 73 civilians;
among them were Cuba's junior girls fencing
squad, 11 Guyanese, five North Koreans,
two Trinidadians, a Colombian and a Venezuelan.
He also took responsibility for placing
bombs at tourist sites in Cuba in 1997,
including one in which an Italian tourist
was killed -- an admission that Mr. Posada
later recanted.
His past activities provide ample reason
to believe that Mr. Posada has committed
serious crimes abroad, which requires that
he be denied asylum. Prudence, moreover,
demands that he be detained while his case
is being considered. Yet he shouldn't be
sent to Cuba or Venezuela, which would violate
U.S. treaty obligations against returning
people to countries where they would face
summary execution. If the U.S. government
is serious about rooting out terrorists
worldwide, it mustn't let Mr. Posada set
up shop here.
No excuses
Some people admire Mr. Posada for his unceasing
efforts to wrench Castro from power. After
all, Castro has summarily executed thousands
of Cubans and committed countless acts of
terrorism against his own people and others
in Latin America.
We, too, want Cuba freed of Castro and
his dictatorship. But coddling or encouraging
those who sow terror and kill civilians
isn't the answer.
Those are Castro's means and the means
of other Cuban dictators before him. Such
violence doesn't bring peace, much less
democracy or the rule of law -- only more
violence. Being sympathetic to Mr. Posada's
goals is no reason to excuse his terrorist
past.
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