Voices From Miami

From today's Miami Herald, on the acquitted of Luis Posada Carriles on Friday on all 11 charges of lying to immigration officials about how he entered the U.S. in 2005 and his alleged role in bombings in Cuba in 1997.

Several Cuban-American leaders in Miami said that while the verdict was a surprise, Posada Carriles got something most Cubans don’t: a fair day in court. They stressed that the prolonged trial dragged the community into a bygone era most had happily left behind.

“We are glad for Posada; at the end of the day he is a man who has struggled during his entire life for Cuba,” said Jose “Pepe” Hernandez, president of the Cuban American National Foundation. “This whole circus of a trial brought us back to the past, to things that happened or could have happened many years ago. The Cuban people, in Cuba and here, definitely are taking other paths to confront the regime, paths that are nonviolent. That’s the positive thing of all of this.”

Cuban exile leader Carlos Saladrigas said it’s time to move on.

“We will have to heal old wounds, and this is one of them,” Saladrigas said. “There were a lot of issues over the years that looked at in today’s light, don’t make sense. We can go back second-guessing 20 or 30 years ago. I think it’s time for the whole Cuban nation to begin moving forward, not taking steps backward.”

University of Miami Institute of Cuban and Cuban American Studies senior fellow Andy Gomez stressed that Posada got his day in court.

“He was given the opportunity to present his side. Are Cubans on the island allowed to do that?” Gomez said. “It does surprise me a bit, but he was acquitted based on the evidence that was presented to the court and the jury.”

A bygone era.  Others paths, paths that are nonviolent.  Time to move on.  Healing old wounds.  The WHOLE CUBAN NATION moving forward.

Let's get to work on it.