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05/28/2005:

"U.S. Rejects Venezuelan Move on Extradition of Bombing Suspect"

WASHINGTON, May 27 - The Justice Department on Friday rejected Venezuela's request for the arrest of a Cuban exile wanted for an airplane bombing as a preliminary to his extradition, saying it had not provided proper supporting evidence.

A State Department official said the Venezuelans were told that their request, which called for the arrest of Luis Posada Carriles to prevent his escape as a first step to extradition, did not contain sufficient information regarding the facts and circumstances of his involvement in the 1976 bombing. The midair explosion of a Cuban airliner off the coast of Barbados killed 73 people, including several Venezuelans.

"The provisional arrest request as submitted by the government was clearly inadequate," the official said. The ruling does not preclude a formal extradition request.

Mr. Posada is in American custody. He escaped a Venezuelan jail in 1985 while awaiting trial on charges he planned the bombing. Now 77, he reappeared on May 17 in Miami.

The Venezuelan government, which said on Sunday that it would consider severing diplomatic ties with Washington if the extradition was denied, responded with a statement, from its embassy in Washington saying it would "present all the necessary documentation to request the extradition."
Full: nytimes.com