September 12, 2004
WASHINGTON — A little-noticed but
chilling scene at Opa-locka Airport
outside Miami last month demonstrates
that the Bush administration's
commitment to fighting international
terrorism can be overtaken by
presidential politics — even if that
means admitting known terrorists onto
U.S. soil.
That's what happened when outgoing
Panamanian President Mireya Moscoso
inexplicably pardoned four Cuban
exiles convicted of "endangering public
safety" for their role in an
assassination plot against Fidel Castro
during a 2000 international summit in
Panama.
After their release, three of the
four immediately flew via private jet to
Miami, where they were greeted with a
cheering fiesta organized by the
hard-line anti-Castro community.
Federal officials briefly interviewed the
pardoned men — all holders of U.S.
passports — and then let them go their
way.
www.latimes.com