Charges President Fidel Castro

Describes European Union as a moral accomplice of the empire

By María Julia Mayoral and Anett Rios Jáuregui—Granma daily staff writers—

PRESIDENT Fidel Castro yesterday once again charged the US government to take immediate action against the notorious international terrorist Luis Posada Carriles and his accomplices. The former has now been in that country for more than 30 days with total impunity, and the latter since all four were pardoned in August of last year, despite full knowledge of their lengthy files as killers awaiting justice.

He also called on the Washington authorities to find out who authorized the entry of such individuals into the U.S, which constitutes a serious crime.

The leader of the Revolution affirmed that he could confirm and guarantee that Luis Posada Carriles is in the south of Florida.

“They have a problem there (in the U.S.) with Posada Carriles and let’s see how they get out of it,” he stated. “This battle could take longer than the fight to rescue the child Elián, but it doesn’t matter how long it lasts, it is a battle of ideas and we simply have to warm up the engines,” he confirmed.

Fidel noted that the US government has still not uttered a single word on the presence in that country of the notorious terrorist; “there is a complete and total silence and who knows for how long, but news on how the entrepreneur of crime arrived in Miami after leaving a port in Isla Mujeres aboard the Santrina is still appearing,” Fidel explained, referring to other news items that are shedding light on the case.

THE SIXTH PASSENGER ABOARD THE SANTRINA

An article by journalist Yolanda Gutiérrez in the Mexican Por Esto daily, recounts the suspicious journey of the Santrina, a boat captained by Cuban-born José Pujol, to transport Posada Carriles to Miami. According to the text, the Santrina left the Isla Mujeres in a hurry on March 15 with the supposed crew of Rubén López Castro, José López Castro, Gilberto Abascal, Oswaldo Pital and Santiago Alvarez Fernández, all of US nationality. The sixth passenger on board was Posada Carriles, although neither his presence nor that of Santiago Alvarez was known to the island’s emigration authorities, as the Mexican daily states.

In a statement by Pujol himself to the harbormaster’s office, the article continues, he explains that the boat arrived there after leaving the Bahamas on March 8 with the aim of exploring the region’s maritime area, one of the interests of the ecological foundation dedicated to student education on issues of the marine environment to which the crew stated that they belonged.

The harbormaster’s office note also confirms that after the vessel had been inspected by the relevant authorities, Pujol affirmed that the Santrina was in a suitable condition to return to its base in Miami.

Yolanda Gutiérrez quotes from the captain’s statement: “it maybe sounds illogical,

but that is our mission on this voyage.” He was possibly referring to the obligatory stop on Isla Mujeres to collect Posada, identified by various local residents who were definite that they had seen him walking around the streets, almost always in a thoughtful attitude, with his arms crossed behind his back, the article continues.

Although it is assumed that six persons left from Isla Mujeres, the exit certificate only reports five, which signifies that the international terrorist’s departure was carefully and secretly studied in order not to arouse the authorities’ suspicion, the Por Esto article notes, having confirmed that the crew had no official problems with entering, remaining on and leaving the island.

Another article specifically referred to by the president was one in the Venezuelan daily El Universo. This one quotes a statement by José Vicente Rangel, vice president of that country, confirming that his government had contacted INTERPOL to register Luis Posada Carriles as a criminal and murderer. The article recalls that Venezuela has an extradition treaty with the United States, which should facilitate the petition to try Posada Carriles, wanted by the Venezuelan authorities for the sabotage of the Cubana Aviation passenger plane in 1976.

Fidel asked the governments of Guatemala and Honduras not to hold back from explaining what they know of Posada Carriles’ travels since he flew into Honduras accompanied by other bandits when that “other bandit” (the ex-president of Panama, Mireya Moscoso) pardoned them after being attentive to the “pious entreaties” of Colin Powell and Otto Reich in the runup to the US presidential elections.

It would be good to ask both governments (those of Guatemala and Honduras) to state whether or not the monster was there or was not there and how it was not possible to find him despite the stink and nauseating smell of death that he carries with him, Fidel added.