February 5, 2009
Hon Eric Holder
Secretary of Justice
U.S Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington,DC 205300-0001
OPEN LETTER
Dear Mr. Holder,
I am writing to you as the brother of Fabio Di Celmo, an Italian citizen and Canadian resident who died in a terrorist attack in Havana, Cuba, Sep 4th 1997, at the Copacabana Hotel, one of many terrorist attacks that year against Cuban tourism installations.
It has been documented and proven beyond any doubt that these terrorist attacks were the work of Central-American mercenaries hired by US based, rightwing Cuban-American individuals and organizations that sought to disrupt the flow of tourism to Cuba with a campaign of terror.
A mercenary from El Salvador was arrested by the Cuban authorities shortly after my brother Fabio bled to death with his throat pierced by shrapnel from the bomb which exploded in the Hotel lobby.
Further investigations and confessions have linked this individual with notorious international terrorist Louis Posada Carriles who himself admitted to being the mastermind of the bombings in a 1998 interview with the New York Times.
Louis Posada Carriles, (former CIA agent, narcotics trafficker, close associate of the Cuban American National Foundation (CANF) founders, and trained in explosives and assassination at Fort Benning) has also been linked to the 1976 Cubana Airlines bombing off the coast of Barbados in which 73 passengers died in a mid-air explosion caused by bombs placed in the airliner washrooms. He is wanted in Venezuela in connection to this act of terrorism. Venezuela's extradition request has so far been ignored by the US government.
In 2000, Louis Posada Carriles was arrested in Panama while plotting to blow up, with C4 explosives, the Panama University's main auditorium where Cuban President Fidel Castro was to attend an international event. He was illegally released in 2004 (as recognized later by Panama Supreme Court) by corrupt Panamanian authorities, under pressure from the US government.
Since the new government of Panama considers his release illegal it has announced its intention to request his extradition. Posada Carriles entered the USA illegally in 2005, was arrested on immigration charges and then released by a Texas court order. He is now living free in Miami, never being recognized as a terrorist by the US government.
Mr Holder, let me assure you that most of those who have lost a relative, a loved-one through an act of terrorism, once they have passed the initial shock and mourning period, begin to be driven by an overwhelming need to know "who, what and why" is behind the terror which caused a loss of someone they love.
I embarked on such a journey of research.
I soon discovered that since 1959 there have been over 3000 innocent people killed by terrorist acts in Cuba - directly and indirectly planned and financed in the USA; that your own institutions - the FBI included - have been and are infiltrated by individuals linked to Cuban-American terrorists; that in your Congress are people such as Ileana Ros Lethinen and the Diaz-Balart brothers who openly support these terrorists and call their exploits" patriotic acts." I found out that other individuals with terrorist backgrounds are allowed to live free in Miami (such as Orlando Bosch, also involved in the 1976 Cubana Airline bombing) ,together with dozens of terrorists who are members and sympathizers of terrorist organizations operating in Florida such as Commandos F-4, Alpha66, Omega 7. These fanatics have paramilitary camps in the Everglades where they practice their terrorist skills. I also found that other individuals, like Santiago Alvarez who brought Posada to the US in 2005 and was caught by your authorities with an arsenal of explosives and weapons, are given extremely light sentences.
The list goes on and on.
The financing for the 1997 bombings in Cuba has been traced to Cuban-Americans based in New Jersey; a Grand Jury investigation is in effect but it never seems to come to a final conclusion although there is plenty of evidence available.
Logically, I came to the conclusion that indeed the US government has kept a blind eye on these terrorists thriving in Florida and elsewhere in the US. This has been allowed to go on for too long. Thousands of innocent lives have been lost.
The new administration of President Obama must deal with these issues if your country expects to enjoy any credibility at all in regards to fighting terrorism.
To add insult to injury, I was to discover that in 1998, the US government arrested five Cuban individuals in the US who had infiltrated and were monitoring these same terrorist groups responsible for attacks against Cuba, in order to prevent terrorist acts such as the one that killed my brother.
These five men are now known worldwide as the Cuban 5.Their case is now before the Supreme Court because their trial was illegal and biased. Their charges (conspiracy to commit espionage) are outrageous and so are their sentences. These five men were doing something that the US Government neglected to do: stop terrorism against Cuba originating in the US.
Millions of people around the world are watching this case closely.
I am confident Mr. Holder that you are familiar with this case and I suggest you examine it thoroughly and work towards correcting this injustice and also thoroughly investigate and prosecute those in your government which have allowed this unbelievable injustice to happen.
For God'sake,your country has actually jailed people for trying to prevent and stop terrorism!!
With relation to Louis Posada Carriles, my family and I demand his immediate arrest (his associates and benefactors investigated). He should be deported to Venezuela, Panama or anywhere else the call for justice comes from.
We appeal to you to help us obtain justice for the murder of my brother and all the victims of Posada Carriles and associates.
I am confident Mr Holder that you would agree with the concept that when we speak of terrorism, there cannot be any double standards. This time, the evidence speaks for itself, there is a double standard and the sentence "whoever harbors a terrorist should be considered a terrorist" is in this case appropriate.
I and my family have in the past sent similar appeals to your predecessors seeking justice, asking the US government to once and for all brand Louis Posada Carriles a terrorist and treat him as such. We have never even received a reply.
This open letter has the intention of reaching out to those individuals in this new administration who may have the courage and the vision to correct the mistakes of the US government with relation to Cuba (and many other parts of the world) and work for peace and justice. Are you such an individual?
Sincerely,
Livio Di Celmo, brother of Fabio Di Celmo (1965-1997)
