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Jury Selection Continues At Cuban Militant's Trial

EL PASO, Texas (CBS4) -- Jury selection continues Tuesday at the Texas trial of Cuba's public enemy No. 1, anti-Castro militant Luis Posada Carriles. Posada faces federal charges of perjury, obstruction and naturalization fraud.

The 82-year-old former CIA asset is accused of making false statements during immigration procedures five years ago when he was asked about a string of 1997 bombings of Havana hotels.

Cuba and Venezuela say Posada was behind the hotel bombings that killed an Italian tourist. Both governments also accuse him of masterminding the 1976 bombing of a Cubana Airlines passenger plane.

Posada has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Cuba contends Posada hired two men to carry out the hotel attacks as part of a plot to hurt tourism on the communist island. U.S. prosecutors have filed detailed FBI documents linking Posada to the bombings, including reports from Cuba.

Posada claimed to have sneaked across the Mexican border into Texas. Prosecutors say he actually arrived in Miami on the boat of a longtime benefactor using a fake passport.

(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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