For the first time in trial, Cuban militant Posada is linked to explosives

Posted on Thursday, 03.10.11
For the first time in trial, Cuban militant Posada is linked to explosives
For first time in the Luis Posada Carriles trial, a witness has linked the Cuban militant to explosives used in Cuba bombings.

By Alfonso Chardy
achardy@ElNuevoHerald.com

EL PASO, Texas -- A Cuban American businessman testified Thursday in the Luis Posada Carriles perjury trial that in 1997 he overheard conversations in his Guatemala City office involving the Cuban exile militant and two other men about ways to smuggle explosive materials into Cuba.

Antonio “Tony’’ Alvarez, the witness, said the conversations took place in August 1997 — around the time that bombs were going off at Cuban tourist sites.

It was the first time since the trial began Jan. 10 that a witness has directly linked Posada to explosives during the time that bombs were exploding in Cuban hotels, bars and at the world-famous Bodeguita del Medio restaurant in old Havana.

Alvarez’s testimony also marked a milestone in the nine-week-old trial. Prosecutors indicated to U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone, who is presiding over the trial, that they plan to rest their case after the testimony of a former reporter for The New York Times, Ann Louise Bardach. She is expected to begin testifying Wednesday.

More:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/03/10/2108627/for-the-first-time-in-trial-cuban.html