U.S. concealed information on the sabotage of the Cuban passenger plane

PRESIDENT Fidel Castro last night charged the US government of conniving with terrorism, by protecting and concealing information on the sabotage of a Cuban aircraft off the coast of Barbados on October 6, 1976.

The day after that criminal act, the FBI and the CIA were aware of those who masterminded and perpetrated the attack, according to a document that the Cuban leader read out during his special presentation this Thursday.

One of 14 declassified texts circulated two days ago by the George Washington University National Security Archive notes that a FBI source in Caracas quoted the names and circumstances of the planning of the crime.

"The source stated that he was sure that Luis Posada Carriles and Orlando Bosch were the masterminds behind the sabotage of the aircraft," Fidel emphasized, and he also mentioned the names of the mercenaries Hernán Ricardo and Freddy Lugo, who placed the device in the plane in an act of terrorism that cost 73 lives.

"Everything that has come out today could have been known the day after the monstrous attack," Fidel affirmed, instead of that information being filed away and concealed.

Ricardo Alarcón, president of the Cuban Parliament, recalled incidents that took place after the aircraft explosion, like the detention of two Venezuelans in Trinidad-Tobago and how they went to the US embassy in that country with the name and telephone number of one of its officials.

The number had been given to them by Posada Carriles, their employer. At that stage, neither Posada or Bosch has been arrested in Caracas, and the FBI and the CIA already knew everything, Alarcón continued, noting that Trinidad and Tobago had asked for help, data or information, which was denied by the United States.

"It is now that these documents are coming out; they were declassified in 1983, but it is now that they are coming to light on the basis of a request made to the that institution, and all of them confirm the terrorist essence of Posada Carriles and Bosch, and the hypocrisy of the US authorities,"

Fidel described Bush Sr. as the father and grandfather of the monster, alluding to the fact that he was director of the CIA when all these events took place, and the man who – against the will of the US Assistant Attorney General – granted Bosch residency in that country and subsequently a pardon.

"We shall se if that is what they are trying to do with the other one," stated Fidel, in relation to the illegal entry of Posada Carriles into US territory, his application for political asylum and the silence of the US authorities. "The document goes into much detail over the plans for the attack and states that there were two meetings in a Caracas hotel with the participation of terrorist Posada Carriles, Frank Castro, Gustavo Castillo and Ricardo "Monkey" Morales.

"Certain Venezuelan government figures were also involved and if Posada and Bosch are starting to talk we will have our own Watergate, the FBI source notes," making it clear that they had to be rescued.

In his special presentation at the International Conference Center in Havana, Fidel quoted other reports that have been disclosed, which state that Posada, an active CIA operative from 1965 and with links to the organization dating back to 1961, had maintained contact with the CIA up until June 1976.

June 10, 1976 was the last "occasional" contact of the agency and the agent, and coincidentally, the CORU, described by the FBI itself as a anti-Castro terrorist organization credited with bomb attacks, was set up in the Dominican Republic the next day, the Cuban president observed.

"It is evident that the intelligence community knew of planned attacks in US territory and other countries, and that that information was never used to neutralize terrorist groups or act against them," he stated.

Fidel returned to the theme of John Bolton, who he nicknamed the fuming bandit, who is being heavily backed with all due pressure by the Bush government for appointment as US ambassador to the United Nations.

In that context, Felipe Pérez Roque, Cuban minister of foreign affairs, commented on the fact that since Bolton was proposed for the post by the US president on March 7, that nomination has become the most controversial act of his second mandate.

A total of 102 former ambassadors of that nation have signed a letter opposing his designation, which was not approved in April due to doubts and concerns over his attitudes and career.

"Today, after five hours of debate and having failed to reach an agreement, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has decided to refer the issue to the Senate in full, seen by specialists as a political defeat for George W. Bush," the foreign minister informed.

"The world has realized the Nazi-fascist, lying and fraudulent mentality of this government, " he added, affirming that a whole series of atrocities and ruses exposed by the press were the subject of debate, thus confirming the incapacity of the present administration.

Finally, he read out an article by the lawyer José Pertierra published in the Cuban newspaper Juventud Rebelde, in which he demonstrates that the US president has to account for itself in the case of Posada Carriles, who illegally entered US territory some weeks ago.

He stated that the US media and that of other countries have almost unanimously acknowledged that Luis Posada Carriles is a terrorist.

The Cuban president assured that the battle against terrorism is also being waged for the five Cuban heroes unjustly incarcerated in the United States. He was referring to René González, Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, Fernando González and Antonio Guerrero, imprisoned for combating terrorism, and expressed his conviction that one day the US people would support the cause of those freedom fighters, their release and return to their country.

Alluding to the march of the combative people on The US Interests Section next Tuesday, May 17, to demand justice and condemn terrorism, Fidel said that on that day everyone would walk the kilometers necessary for the liberation of the five Cuban heroes.

He noted that as the lies of the empire and the calumnies and falsehoods wielded against the Cuban patriots are being unmasked, the day of their release is approaching. (AIN)