Chavez Accuses U.S. Of Protecting Cuban Militant

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) – President Hugo Chavez accused the United States of shielding a Cuban militant from charges that he plotted the 1976 bombing of a Cuban jetliner, calling Luis Posada Carriles “the father of this continent’s terrorists.”

During a televised address late Wednesday, Chavez also accused Posada – a former CIA operative and longtime adversary of Cuban leader Fidel Castro – of killing and torturing leftist activists in Venezuela decades ago.

“The United States continues to protect the father of this continent’s terrorists, Luis Posada Carriles,” said Chavez, a close ally of Cuba’s Castro.

Posada has been accused of links to the killings of leftist activists in Venezuela in the 1970s while he served in the country’s Disip secret police.

Chavez’s comments came after the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry slammed a decision by a judge in El Paso, Texas, to release Posada from prison on bond.

Posada, Cuban-born but naturalized as a Venezuelan, is wanted in Cuba and Venezuela for masterminding the Cubana Airlines bombing off Barbados that killed 73 people – charges Posada denies.

Venezuela first requested extradition of Posada Carriles nearly two years ago, but said Wednesday it has yet to receive a response.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) AP-NY-04-12-07 1057EDT