U.S. to Appeal Luis Posada Carriles’ Release

I guess I should’ve held my breath after all — the Justice Department announced today that it will appeal Judge Cardone’s decision to set Posada free:

One month after a stinging loss, the Justice Department Tuesday appealed a Texas federal judge’s dismissal of immigration fraud charges against Cuban exile militant Luis Posada Carriles.

In May, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone threw out an indictment against Posada, 79, who was charged with lying about how he sneaked into the United States in 2005 during his application for citizenship.

She also tossed out Posada’s citizenship interview with immigration authorities, in which he said he crossed the Texas border to enter the country that March. Authorities charged he came by boat from a Mexican island.

In her scathing dismissal in El Paso, the judge condemned the prosecution as a “pretext” for gathering alleged terrorist evidence on Posada, a former CIA-trained explosives expert. “The government’s tactics in this case are so grossly shocking and so outrageous as to violate the universal sense of justice,” Cardone ruled.

Federal prosecutors filed their appellate notice with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, which reviews federal cases in Texas.

Freed by Cardone’s order on May 8, Posada embarked on a road trip from El Paso to Miami. Posada, who had to travel by car because he’s on a government no-fly list, arrived four days later at his wife’s home in West Kendall, where he was allowed to live under house arrest while awaiting trial.

He is no longer living there for his own privacy and security, his Miami lawyer said.

Good news, indeed. Now let’s hope that the government takes the appeal more seriously than it did Posada’s original extradition hearing.