THE United States Homeland Security Department is to review the immigration status of terrorist Luis Posada Carriles during the next 48 hours, the period of time set by law for making a decision on the case, according to an EFE report.

Immigration authorities took the notorious international terrorist yesterday by helicopter to the Krome Detention Center, where immigrants are held, in southern Florida, as was seen live on CNN television.

Terrorist Luis Posada Carriles, the author of various attacks including the mid-flight explosion of a Cuban passenger plane that killed 73 people, was arrested yesterday in Miami, although Homeland Security Department authorities said that he was "in the custody" of that agency, AFP reported.

According to a source, the arrest occurred after a mass march in Havana against and to demand Posada’s extradition.

Eduardo Soto, his attorney, told reporters at a press conference that he did not know where his client was taken by the agents from the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) who arrested him.

The day had begun with the publication of an interview in a Miami newspaper confirming Posada Carriles’ presence in the city. Subsequently, the terrorist called a press conference with a number of reporters. After midday, according to various news agency reports, he was arrested in a Miami-Dade residence.

The Homeland Security Department did not specify where he would end up, but did express that the ICE "does not generally remove people to Cuba, nor does ICE generally remove people to countries believed to be acting on Cuba’s behalf," in a clear reference to Venezuela.