Cuban exiles in Miami consider him a freedom fighter. The governments of Cuba and Venezuela see him as a ruthless assassin. But to many Venezuelans living in Broward County, Luis Posada Carriles is just a man trapped in a political circus.
'It's complicated,' said Alberto Bellurin, a contractor who moved to Weston from Caracas 10 years ago. Posada is a Cuban-born Venezuelan citizen and ex-CIA operative wanted on charges of blowing up a Cuban jetliner, killing 73 people en route from Caracas to Havana in 1976.
Once again, Posada is a topic of conversation among expatriates — and not just Cubans. He is finding support among expatriates from the country demanding his return to face trial: Venezuela.
It has been a roundabout route from Caracas to South Florida for the 80-year-old anti-Castro militant — including a prison break, an assassination attempt against Fidel Castro, a presidential pardon in Panama and an illegal return to the United States aboard a shrimp boat.
Then, on Aug. 14, when it looked like Posada might linger in immigration limbo and Venezuela's demands for extradition would go unheeded, a federal appeals court ordered him to stand trial on immigration fraud charges. He faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted on all counts.
it's a little hypocritical when the U.S. harbors terrorists.
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