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Jailed Cuban militant gets new counsel

MIAMI, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- A Cuban exile militant hired a leading Miami lawyer who represented fellow Cubans convicted of weapons charges, The Miami Herald reported Tuesday.

Luis Posada Carriles has hired attorney Arturo Hernandez to represent him as he faces charges stemming from how he allegedly sneaked into the United States in 2005.

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Hernandez represented Santiago Alvarez and Osvaldo Mitat, who pleaded guilty in September to conspiring to possess illegal weapons.

Posada, who escaped from prison in Venezuela in 1985, is charged in Venezuela with masterminding the bombing of a Cuban jetliner in 1976, killing 73 people. He has denied any involvement in the bombing.

Posada contends he entered the United States across the Mexican border last year, though Cuban officials assert he was smuggled into the country with the help of anti-Castro militants.

Venezuela and Cuba are demanding his extradition to Venezuela. The United States has said it would not turn Posada over to Venezuelan authorities.

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