25 April, 2007

TAKE ACTION TO PREVENT THE RELEASE OF THE TERRORIST, LUIS POSADA CARRILES!
DEMAND HIS EXTRADITION TO VENEZUELA!

IN THIS ALERT, YOU WILL FIND:

• QUICK OVERVIEW
• STATEMENT BY THE VENEZUELA SOLIDARITY NETWORK
• BASIC TALKING POINTS
• CONTACT YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS, including sample letter and email link, plus phone numbers
• ATTEND OR ORGANIZE A DEMONSTRATION ON MAY 11TH, THE DATE POSADA’S TRIAL BEGINS

QUICK OVERVIEW

Luis Posada Carriles, a Cuban born, Venezuelan citizen, is a terrorist and former CIA operative who, with his partner, Orlando Bosch, carried out the bombing of a Cuban passenger plane in 1976, killing all 73 persons on board. The plane exploded over Barbados, on its way to Venezuela. This took place when the CIA was under the directorship of George Bush, Sr. Venezuela is demanding that Posada, who escaped from a Venezuelan jail while on trial for the airliner bombing, be extradited to face trial there. Posada entered the United States illegally and is asking for asylum here. The Bush administration has refused to extradite him and he has been released from custody by an immigration judge. The Court of Appeals confirmed his release on bail. On May 11, in El Paso, Texas, Posada begins his trial on immigration charges. This trial is widely anticipated to be a farce, a “necessary” step toward erasing any legal obstacles to Posada’s unimpeded residency in the United States.

STATEMENT BY THE VENEZUELA SOLIDARITY NETWORK

The Venezuela Solidarity Network condemns the release on bail of Cuban exile terrorist Luis Posada Carriles pending his trial on immigration violations. Posada is a former CIA operative who has openly boasted about the terrorist acts he has committed against Cuba. He escaped jail while on trial in Venezuela for his role in planting a bomb that killed 73 passengers on a
Cuban airliner. He is a naturalized Venezuela citizen and former member of State Security. The Venezuela Solidarity Network demands that the United States Government extradite Posada to Venezuela, as it is required to do under international law. The Venezuela Solidarity Network rejects claims by the Bush administration that Posada would be at risk of torture and abuse in Venezuela. Prisoners were tortured under US-supported Venezuelan governments during the period when Posada worked in State Security. The present government of Venezuela does not torture prisoners. The Venezuela Solidarity Network rejects the hypocrisy of the government of George W. Bush accusing another country of torture when he has authorized torture in the US prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Venezuela Solidarity Network rejects the hypocrisy of the government of George W. Bush, which claims to be fighting a war on terrorism when it is harboring Cuban exile terrorists such as Posada and Orlando Bosch, who has also bragged about bombing tourist hotels in Cuba. The Venezuela Solidarity Network demands that Posada and Bosch be punished for their crimes against humanity. In addition, we demand that the Cuban Five, five brave men who infiltrated the Miami terrorist cells and reported on their activities to both Cuban authorities and the U.S. Government, be freed from US prisons to which they were sent on trumped up espionage charges.

• Luis Posada Carriles is an international terrorist and mass murderer. Any talk about a “war on terrorism” is exposed as pure hypocrisy by the Bush Administration’s refusal to extradite Posada to stand trial in Venezuela.
• The Bush Administration has maintained that Posada would face torture if returned to Venezuela. This assertion is ridiculous, given that Bolivarian Venezuela has never been credibly shown to employ such techniques. Rather, the United States has been found to use torture in a variety of places, including the infamous prisons in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo. The US also regularly uses the practice of “extraordinary rendition” to send prisoners to other countries known to torture.

Following is a sample letter you can use to contact your Congressional representatives demanding Posada's extradition to Venezuela.

You can send this letter by clicking on the links below and entering your State and ZIP code. You may need to enter your name and ZIP code again (to verify that you are a constituent) after which you'll be able to copy and paste the sample letter below (or you may write your own letter) into an email to your Representatives and Senators.

I am writing to demand that the terrorist and mass murderer, Luis Posada Carriles, be extradited to Venezuela to stand trial for his participation in the 1976 bombing of a Cuban passenger plane, killing all 73 passengers on board. The plane was headed to Venezuela, and Posada is a Venezuelan citizen who escaped from jail while awaiting trial. The Bush Administration refusal to extradite Posada is motivated by the fact that Posada was working as a CIA operative at the time of this crime.

It is the worse kind of hypocrisy when the US government prosecutes an endless, so-called “war on terror” against those it defines as enemies (even though most casualties of this war are civilians), while turning a blind eye to those terrorists regarded as friends.

I demand that Pres. Bush and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales act now to:

1) Classify Luís Posada Carriles as a terrorist;
2) Begin the process of extraditing Posada in accordance with the extradition treaty which exists between the United States and Venezuela;
3) In the event that the US government refuses to extradite Posada, bring him to trial in this country for this, and other such crimes, as required by international law.

It is an affront to the people of the United States, Venezuela, Cuba, and the world for the US government and the Bush administration to release Posada into the general population, as has been done, where he is free to plan more such crimes. Those who tolerate this outrage are complicit in his crimes. Therefore, my final demand is that you, as an elected official, take action to prevent this travesty now.

Sincerely,

Your Name
Your Address

To send an email to your Congressional representative, follow this link: http://www.house.gov/writerep/

To send an email to your Senator, follow this link:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Toll free numbers for the Capitol Switchboard:

800-828-0498, 800-459-1887, 800-614-2803, 800-862-5530, 866-340-9281

It is widely speculated that Posada’s trial will be a farce, clearing way for him to be granted asylum in the United States. A major demonstration is being planned in El Paso, where the trial will take place, before the opening session on May 11th, beginning at noon. For more information, go to the following link:

http://freethefive.org/posadaprotest.htm

Other protests are being planned in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, and Los Angeles, and information should be forthcoming about those at the above site.

HELP ORGANIZE A CONTINGENT FROM YOUR COMMUNITY TO GO TO THE EL PASO DEMONSTRATION!

ORGANIZE A SOLIDARITY DEMONSTRATION IN YOUR COMMUNITY IF YOU CANNOT GO TO EL PASO, OR A DEMONSTRATION IS NOT PLANNED WHERE YOU ARE!

If you are organizing to take people to El Paso, or are planning a solidarity demonstration in your town, please let us know, and we’ll get the information up on the Venezuela Solidarity Network website (www.vensolidarity.org). Write us at: vsn@afgj.org and let us know what you’re planning.

This ERN Action Alert was prepared by the Venezuela Solidarity Network. The basic purpose of the Venezuela Solidarity Network is to increase communication among groups that oppose US intervention in Venezuela, support the right of the Venezuela people to self-determination, and support the Bolivarian revolution. The Venezuela Solidarity Network also seeks to enlist additional progressive groups into Venezuela solidarity work, and to facilitate our ability to unite in joint actions.
We can be reached by phone at 202-544-9355 (National Office) or 520-243-0381 (James Jordan, Emergency Response Network Coordinator). Our website is:www.vensolidarity.org. You can also email james@afgj.org for more information.

To become a member of the Emergency Response Network, click here.