AP: Texas

08/31/2005

By ALICIA A. CALDWELL  / Associated Press

An anti-Castro militant refused to answer the first wave of questions from U.S. immigration attorneys in his deportation hearing Tuesday but later acknowledged using several aliases and passports with different names.

Luis Posada Carriles, wanted in Venezuela on charges that he plotted the 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner while in Caracas, requested asylum in the United States after his May arrest in Miami on charges that he sneaked into the country illegally through Mexico.

An immigration judge in the case has said that Posada's alleged role in terrorist acts would be considered in the deportation case. Judge William L. Abbott earlier asked lawyers in the case for written opinions on whether the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, for which Posada was given CIA training, could be considered an act of terrorism.

On Tuesday, Posada initially invoked the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when asked about a series of six aliases the government said he had used over the years. But after consulting with attorneys during a break, Posada acknowledged using the aliases and passports with various names as he traveled among Latin American countries and the U.S.

Posada also later acknowledged that it was possible he used an El Salvadoran passport with the name Franco Rodriguez Mena and Posada's picture to enter the U.S. at Miami in April 2000.

"I can't remember all the names," Posada said in Spanish.

Of the trip to Miami, Posada said he was only passing through the city en route to the Caribbean and never actually entered the country.

When questioned earlier by his lawyer, Posada said he was shot several times in Guatemala in 1990 in what he said was an assassination attempt by the Cuban government. The Cubans, he said, wanted to kill him because of his earlier work in Venezuela, where he is a naturalized citizen and has worked as a security official.

Posada also denied admitting to a newspaper reporter that he plotted a 1997 series of bombings in Cuba that killed an Italian tourist. Posada said he didn't understand all of the questions during three days of interviews in English at an undisclosed Caribbean island.

"The interview was made in a language I don't know," Posada said.

Gina Garrett-Jackson, the lead attorney for the government, also asked Posada about his apparent claim of responsibility in a television interview after the newspaper story.

Posada said his answers to the television reporter's questions could be interpreted as an admission, but they were not.

"Listen well to that," Posada said about a reference to who paid for the 1997 bombings. "I didn't say they were financing me. I said they were financing those operations, that's it."

Earlier Tuesday, a Venezuelan lawyer and former government official said Posada, 77, would likely be tortured and humiliated if ordered to return to Venezuela. The government there has requested extradition so that Posada can stand trial on charges of plotting the Cuban airliner bombing while in Caracas.

Joaquin F. Chaffardet Ramos, testifying on behalf of Posada, said the Venezuelan government has denounced Posada as a terrorist on state-run media, and he almost certainly "would be sent immediately" to Cuba.

Chaffardet said that because of his age, Posada could be sentenced to no more than four years in prison under Venezuelan law. But, he cautioned that the government probably would strip Posada of his citizenship, opening the door for his deportation to Cuba.

Venezuelan officials have vowed not to send Posada to Cuba and that country has said it would not seek his extradition.

Chaffardet said he has known Posada since the late 1960s and that they worked together as security officials.

Garrett-Jackson has said the government is undecided on opposing Posada's deportation to Venezuela. Monday she cited concerns about torture in opposing Posada's potential deportation to Cuba.

Posada has cited fears of torture in Venezuela and Cuba in his request for asylum.

A number of governments that had citizens aboard the Cuban jetliner have demanded the deportation to Venezuela of the one-time CIA operative.

Posada, who is Cuban, has been held in an El Paso detention center since his arrest. He has denied any involvement in the bombing. He also has declined to name a country he would prefer to be deported to if his request for asylum is denied.

The deportation hearing is scheduled to continue Wednesday afternoon.