Venezuelans may be deported for bombings

MIAMI, Jan. 20 (UPI) -- A Miami judge will decide whether to deport two former Venezuelan National Guard officers charged with bombing two diplomatic missions in Caracas.

In written closing arguments, attorneys for Jose Antonio Colina and German Rodolfo Varela said their clients would be tortured if they returned to Venezuela, The Miami Herald reported Thursday.

Final arguments were filed Wednesday and Immigration Judge Neale Foster is expected to rule within a few weeks.

The two men have been at the Krome detention center since their arrival in Miami Dec. 19, 2003.

Colina and Varela have denied charges they set off bombs at the Spanish Embassy and the Colombian Consulate earlier in 2003.

Homeland Security Department attorneys Gina Garrett-Jackson and Carlos Lopez said the men did not qualify for asylum because there is probable cause to believe they committed the crimes.

If Foster rules for the government, the two men can appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals. If the judge rules for the pair, they can eventually apply for permanent residence and later on, citizenship is a possibility.