THIS May 8 marks one year since the definitive liberation of terrorist Luis Posada Carriles in the United States.

At the time, that was the ruling of Judge Kathleen Cardone, who threw out the charges brought against Posada by the U.S. government. The terrorist had been accused solely of committing fraud and lying to the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement authorities in order to obtain naturalization in that country. The judge said at the time, "The realm of this case is not, as some have suggested, terrorism," she wrote. "It is immigration fraud. Terrorism, and the determination as to whether or not to classify an individual as a terrorist, lies within the sound discretion of the executive branch."

The U.S. government has not charged Posada for his acts of terrorism even though it has all the evidence based on its longstanding relationship with him, along with what Cuba has provided since 1998.

Paradoxically, it was Judge Cardone herself who, in one of her initial rulings, highlighted the fact that he is a dangerous terrorist and even listed part of the string of crimes committed by this sinister individual.

Judge Cardone noted Posada’s participation in some of the most repugnant actions of the 20th century. The long list includes the Iran-Contra scandal, the bombing of Cubana Airlines Flight 455, the detonation of bombs in Havana tourist sites in 1997 and plans to assassinate President Fidel Castro in Panama, in 2000.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounces the conspiratorial inaction by the United States government and the protection given to Luis Posada Carriles by the administration of George W. Bush.

While insisting on presenting itself as the leader of its self-proclaimed "war on terrorism," the U.S. government continues to ignore a request to extradite Posada submitted on June 15, 2005 by the government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

President George W. Bush refuses to try him for what he really is, a terrorist, and in doing so he is shamelessly violating his own laws and international obligations. Once again, he is demonstrating his personal commitment to the Cuban-American mafia of Miami.

The release of the terrorist and former agent of the Central Intelligence Agency shows that his banal trial in the United States is a farce.

Ridiculous and shameful efforts by U.S. prosecutors to repeatedly delay the immigration fraud case constitute a legal procrastination maneuver that is blocking justice, postponed for an extraordinarily long time in this matter.

It poses a marked contrast with the ferocious attitude of those same prosecutors in the case of our five heroes, anti-terrorist fighters, several of whom were given life sentences after a shady trial carried out in a biased courtroom in Miami.

Meanwhile, the terrorist’s lawyers are being given innumerable extensions to continue the infinite immigration case, which does not guarantee any punishment, however small, for the freed terrorist.

Equally benign treatment has been given to terrorists Santiago Álvarez, Osvaldo Mitat and Ernesto Abreu. They were sentenced on February 11 by Judge David Briones to 10, eight and two months of prison, respectively, for refusing to testify against Posada after smuggling him into the United States aboard a boat, the Santrina.

It is the same with the cases of his accomplices, Rubén López Castro and José Pujol, who were sentenced by Cardone for the same reason on March 17 to 10 and three months in prison and fines of $500 and $250, respectively.

The peaceful life being led by terrorist Luis Posada Carriles in Miami, guaranteed by the U.S. government, comes in addition to a long list of abuses, violations and atrocities for which the Bush administration will be remembered.

How could anyone forget its secret abductions of individuals all over the world and its approval of torture, all under the pretext of the fight against terrorism?

With only nine months left of this administration, it is becoming clear that its legacy in the fight against terrorism will be one of hypocrisy and an absence of political will to combat it whenever it is inconvenient for U.S. political interests.

The impunity assured to Luis Posada Carriles by the U.S. government is further proof of our own country’s need to defend itself against anti-Cuban terrorism, originating and financed in the United States.

September 12 of this year will mark 10 years that our five heroes have spent in U.S. prisons, unjustly and cruelly locked up for having combated terrorism.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reaffirms that the Cuban people will continue demanding justice against the criminal.

Havana, April 16, 2008

Translated by Granma International