opinion

The Partido Alternativa Popular (Popular Alternative Party) receives with satisfaction the recent unanimous decision by the Supreme Court of Justice that annulled the pardons decreed by former President Mireya Moscoso in the year 2004 as illegal and unconstitutional, although we deplore that it has taken four years to make this judicial decision.

This court decision is particularly just in the case of the terrorist Luis Posada Carriles and his accomplices (Gaspar Jiménez, Guillermo Novo and Pedro Remón), accused and convicted of introducing into Panama a considerable quantity of explosives to make an attempt on the life of the Cuban president, Fidel Castro, in the middle of a massive gathering at the University of Panama in the year 2000.

Had they been able to accomplish their terrorist intentions Posada Carriles and his accomplices would have committed a true genocide in our country, given that thousands of people were congregated to receive the president of Cuba. The terrorist acts of this man have a long history, as he was condemned in Venezuela for an attack that brought down a Cubana Airlines flight in which more than 70 people died, and escaped from prison.

Contradicting and unmasking its so-called "war on terrorism," the US government of George W. Bush protects and harbors this dangerous criminal in Florida, without complying with the different demands for his extradition that have been made.

Thus, on the basis of the Panamanian court decision, the Partido Alternativa Popular reiterates the call that we have made since the first day of the PRD government of Martín Torrijos, that it file an extradition request for this attempted genocide so that those responsible pay for their crimes committed in Panama.

We demand that the Ministry of Government and Justice, as well as the Foreign Ministry, act in an expeditious manner to formally request the extradition of Luis Posada Carriles and his accomplices. We also support the legal actions against the Panamanian officials who set these criminals free, the ringleaders among whom are former President Mireya Moscoso and her Minister of Government and Justice Arnulfo Escalona.