Posada, Luis

Autor: Posada, Luis
Rok: 1928-

Biogr./Hist. údaje: Kubánský terorista, agent CIA, několikrát se pokusil zavraždit Fidela Castra, působil v bojůvkách Contras ve Venezuele a jiných latinskoamerických zemích, žije v USA..
Zdroj: Autoritní databáze Národní knihovny ČR

Luis Clemente Faustino Posada Carriles (born February 15, 1928) (nicknamed Bambi) is a Cuban exile militant and former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agent. He is considered a terrorist by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Government of Cuba, and has been convicted of involvement in the bombing of Cubana flight 455, which killed 73 people.Born in Havana, Posada Carriles came into contact with Fidel Castro while still a student. However, he developed misgivings about the revolution, and fled to the United States after a spell of anti-Castro activism. He helped organize the Bay of Pigs invasion, and after it failed, became an agent for the CIA. He received training at Fort Benning, and from 1964 to 1968 was involved with a series of bombings and other anti-Castro covert activities.After migrating to Venezuela in 1968, Posada spent the years until 1985 involved in various terrorist activities in the region; until 1976, he continued to have ties to the CIA. He was convicted in absentia in Panama of involvement in various terrorist attacks and plots in the Americas, including 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner that killed 73 people; however, he has always denied involvement. Along with Orlando Bosch, he was also involved in founding the Coordination of United Revolutionary Organizations, described by the FBI as a terrorist outfit. In 1985, he re-established links to the CIA, and moved to Central America, where he became involved with United States support to the Contras, and later admitted to playing a part in the Iran-Contra affair.In later years, he admitted involvement in a string of bombings in 1997 targeting fashionable Cuban hotels and nightspots. In addition, he was jailed under accusations related to an assassination attempt on Fidel Castro in Panama in 2000, although he was later pardoned by Panamanian President Mireya Moscoso in the final days of her term.He has always denied involvement in the airline bombing and the alleged plot against Castro in Panama, but has admitted to fighting to overthrow the Castro regime in Cuba.In 2005, Posada was held by U.S. authorities in Texas on the charge of illegal presence on national territory before the charges were dismissed on May 8, 2007. On September 28, 2005 a U.S. immigration judge ruled that Posada could not be deported, stating that he faced the threat of torture in Venezuela. Likewise, the US government has refused to send Posada to Cuba, saying he might face torture. His release on bail on April 19, 2007 elicited angry reactions from the Cuban and Venezuelan governments. The U.S. Justice Department had urged the court to keep him in jail because he was "an admitted mastermind of terrorist plots and attacks", a flight risk and a danger to the community. Posada-Carriles' trial ended on April 8, 2011 with a jury acquitting him on all charges.Peter Kornbluh of the National Security Archive has referred to him as "one of the most dangerous terrorists in recent history" and the "godfather of Cuban exile violence." In Miami however, where Posada currently resides, he is considered "a heroic figure in the hardline anti-Castro exile community."