Is the U.S. Harboring a Terrorist?

May 9, 2007 — -- Does a terrorist live in Miami -- not in hiding, but, in fact, quite celebrated by some and very well known by the Bush White House? Is the administration actually allowing a terrorist to live in the United States?

Some say absolutely yes.

Luis Posada Carriles, a former CIA operative and Cuban exile militant, is accused of planning the bombing of a civilian Cuban airliner in 1976. All 73 people onboard the flight from Venezuela to Cuba were killed. In 1985 Posada, who denies any involvement in the bombing, escaped a Venezuelan prison while he was awaiting trial.

Today he is a free man in the United States. After he was accused of illegally entering the country in 2005 by immigration officials, a U.S. federal judge dismissed the immigration charges against him. Critics of the decision say the U.S. government is inconsistent with its war on terror.

Among those killed in the 1976 bombing of the Cuban passenger plane was 19-year-old student Raymond Persaud, who was on his way to Cuba to study medicine on a scholarship. His sister Roseanne Nenninger, now an American citizen, told ABC News Now's Hispanic news program "Exclusiva" that she wants the Bush administration to either extradite Posada to Cuba or Venezuela, where he is wanted for the attack, or put him on trial here in the United States.

"It was our 9/11," Nenninger said. "I want the U.S. government to put Luis Posada on trial for the murder of my brother and all the other innocent passengers on that plane. My father died of a broken heart because he never saw justice. I want that justice to finally come."

Although Posada has denied involvement in the attack, the case raises the classic debate: Is one man's freedom fighter another man's terrorist?

Many, especially Cuban exiles, see Posada as a hero who has dedicated his life to freeing the Cuban people from the tyranny of Fidel Castro. They support his work with the CIA and his philosophy that centers on the destruction of the Cuban dictator. They absolve him of any mistakes he may have committed to get that job done.

But Nenninger said this is not about politics for her family.

"We had a huge farewell party for our brother and everyone came," she said. "It was a great day for all of us. The next day, he was dressed in his brown suit that was tailor-made for his first plane trip. We took pictures on the tarmac and saw him head onto the airplane. It was the last time we saw him alive. Our family was forever devastated. It's been decades, but sometimes it feels like yesterday. Someone needs to be arrested and serve time for our suffering and that horrible crime."

The question, now that a U.S. judge has thrown out the immigration indictment against Posada, is whether the prosecution will appeal -- and if the Bush administration will reply to those who say the legal system in the United States has been manipulated in order to let Posada go free.

The judge's ruling Tuesday did not involve Posada's extradition requests -- although the U.S. administration has said it will not extradite him to Cuba, where he was born, or Venezuela, where he is still considered a fugitive.

A Justice Department spokesman said that prosecutors were reviewing the ruling.

Is the United States harboring a terrorist? You decide! Post your comments at the "Exclusiva" blog here.