• 1961: Trained for CIA-backed Bay of Pigs invasion but was not involved in the assault.

• 1963-64: Served in U.S. Army.

• 1965-67: Worked for CIA Miami station on Cuba sabotage missions.

• 1969-74: Battled Cuban-backed rebels in Caracas as senior Venezuelan intelligence officer.

• 1974: Retired to head private security agency in Caracas.

• 1976: Arrested in connection with bombing of Cuban jetliner off Barbados.

• 1980: Acquitted in plane bombing but held because of retrial.

• 1985: Escaped from Venezuelan jail and appeared in El Salvador, helping contra rebels.

• 1990: Survived assassination attempt in Guatemala.

• 1998: Admitted to The New York Times a role in Cuban tourist bombings, but later retracted it.

• 2000: Arrested and later convicted in Panama in plot to kill Fidel Castro.

• 2004: Relocated to Honduras after being pardoned and released in Panama.

• 2005: Sneaked into the United States and asked for asylum.