A close Miami associate of elusive Cuban exile militant Luis Posada Carriles has begun hiring attorneys to represent his friend if and when he's ready to emerge from hiding.

BY ELAINE DE VALLE AND ALFONSO CHARDY

A Coral Gables immigration attorney hired to represent Cuban exile militant Luis Posada Carriles said Thursday he plans to ask the Department of Homeland Security for asylum and parole for his client so he can live in the United States without fear of extradition.

Attorney Eduardo Soto said he expects a tough battle on behalf of the controversial 77-year-old -- hailed by some as an anti-Castro icon, but wanted by two countries as a terrorism suspect. Posada, thought to be in hiding now in South Florida, has been accused of blowing up a Cuban airliner in 1976 when he lived in Venezuela and trying to kill Cuban President Fidel Castro in 2000 when he visited Panama.

''I anticipate a huge struggle here, both on the immigration front and in other matters,'' Soto said, referring to the possibility that Venezuela may seek Posada's extradition as a result of his 1985 escape from a prison where he was held in connection with the airliner bombing.

As Posada's legal team began taking shape Thursday, the Castro government signaled that it plans to use Posada's reported presence in Miami as the basis for stepped-up criticism of the United States.

`DOUBLE STANDARD'

Granma, the Cuban Communist Party's daily, said in its international edition Wednesday that Posada's presence ''confirms'' the Bush administration's ``double standard to measure terrorism.''

Lázaro Barredo, a deputy in Cuba's National Assembly, appeared Wednesday night on a Havana television news program and branded the Posada situation as an ``attack on decency.''

Meanwhile, U.S. government officials were publicly silent about Posada, who is not wanted on any charges in the United States. But a congressional aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Herald: ``There is some concern about how he got in. It raises questions about homeland security issues.''

News of Posada's possible arrival in South Florida broke Tuesday night when the Spanish-language television station Channel 41 quoted three unidentified sources as saying he was here and planning ``to present himself to North American authorities.''

Soto said he is awaiting word on what Posada wants to do. Soto said he wouldn't comment on whether he has spoken to Posada but said he doesn't know where Posada is now.

''I will be further advised early next week what, if any, intention Mr. Posada Carriles has with respect to the United States,'' said Soto, adding that he agreed to take the case pro bono.

ATTORNEYS ON TAP

Posada's close friend and financial backer, Miami developer Santiago Alvarez, said he retained Soto and may also approach other attorneys, including Kendall Coffey, a former U.S. attorney in Miami.

''Kendall Coffey has always been willing to defend us and has offered his services in the past, and he will be used if we need his specialties, for example, in the case of an extradition or criminal charges,'' Alvarez said.

Coffey declined to comment Thursday. ''I cannot speculate on future possibilities,'' he said.

EXTRADITION A WORRY

Alvarez said the immediate concern was whether Venezuela would formally ask for Posada's return if he comes forward in Miami.

Venezuela and the United States have an extradition treaty.

Recently, Venezuela asked the United States to extradite two former national guard lieutenants seeking asylum.

The pair face charges in connection with the 2003 bombings of the Spanish Embassy and Colombian consulate in Caracas.

Posada, Cuban-born and a naturalized Venezuelan citizen, is wanted for escaping from prison there 20 years ago while being investigated for the airliner bombing. He was acquitted twice in the case but was being held pending a prosecutors' appeal.

Soto said his initial goal would be to ensure that Posada can stay in the United States. He said that once Posada is ready to come forward, he would follow a two-track strategy of filing for asylum and parole under the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act.

Soto said an asylum application would be the proper strategy because ``it is in his best interests to establish that he fears for his life should he be removed from the United States.''

A foreign national seeking asylum essentially gets to stay until the case is resolved -- though the asylum seeker can be detained.

Jack Bulger, Miami district director for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which handles asylum petitions, declined to discuss Posada's case specifically but said in general that such cases would be referred to an immigration judge if the person is denied asylum or parole.

`NONPOLITICAL CRIME'

Under immigration law, asylum may be denied to foreign nationals thought to have committed a ''serious nonpolitical crime'' before arriving in the United States.

For example, an immigration judge in February denied asylum to the two former national guard officers on the basis of Venezuela's extradition request.

But the judge also prohibited the U.S. government from deporting them to Caracas because ``it is more likely than not that they would be tortured.''

In the Posada case, the Cuban government has formally sought his capture and extradition from several Latin American countries. Havana has said Posada would face a firing squad if caught and returned home.

WOUNDED IN 1990

Posada was seriously wounded in a 1990 assassination attempt in Guatemala while working as a security advisor for then-president Vinicio Cerezo. It was widely speculated at the time that Cuban agents were responsible.

Soto said he thinks he can make a strong case for asylum because Posada was not convicted in the airliner bombing.

But David Abraham, a University of Miami immigration law professor, said the Posada case could pose a legal and political dilemma for the Bush administration.

''The larger question is whether asylum should be granted to someone whose actions would ordinarily fit the definition of terrorism,'' Abraham said.

``But as we have seen in the past in South Florida, terrorist activities can be recast as freedom fighting if the political situation is supportive.''

Herald staff writers Nancy San Martin and Oscar Corral and researcher Monika Z. Leal contributed to this story.