U.S. charges against anti-Castro exile dismissed

By Jeff Franks

HOUSTON (Reuters) - A U.S. judge threw out all charges against anti-Castro Cuban exile and former CIA operative Luis Posada Carriles on Tuesday, allowing him to go free days before he was set to be tried for immigration fraud.

The surprise decision by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone in El Paso, Texas, left uncertain the fate of Posada, who has a long history of violent opposition to Cuban leader Fidel Castro, and is viewed by many Castro opponents as a hero.

He is wanted in Cuba and Venezuela, where is accused of masterminding the 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner that killed 73 people.

Cardone dismissed the immigration charges on grounds that the U.S. government case was based on statements it got from Posada Carriles, 79, under false pretences.

He thought he was in an immigration interview that was actually a criminal interrogation, his lawyers said, and the judge agreed.

"The government's tactics in this case are so grossly shocking and so outrageous as to violate the universal sense of justice," Cardone wrote.

"This court will not set aside such rights nor overlook government misconduct because defendant is a political hot potato," she said in the 38-page ruling.

Her decision provoked an angry response from Cuba, which says the Bush administration has coddled Posada Carriles because of his CIA past and his support in the U.S. Cuban exile community.