Texas trial of Cuban exile ongoing

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EL PASO, Texas, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- A judge has ruled the Texas trial of a Cuban exile militant can go on despite prosecutors' failure to deliver possible exculpatory documents to the defense.

Luis Posada Carriles, suspected in a string of bombings at Cuban tourist sites in 1997, faces perjury charges for allegedly lying to U.S. authorities after he illegally entered the United States and applied for political asylum, El Nuevo Herald reported Tuesday.

U.S. District Court Judge Kathleen Cardone ruled prosecutors could continue to question a key Cuban government witness against Posada who was testifying when she suspended the trial two weeks ago to consider a defense motion for mistrial.

Carriles' defense lawyer had asked for a dismissal of three key charges related to the string of bombings against the Cuban sites.

Attorney Arturo V. Hernandez claimed the prosecution failed to deliver on time relevant documents and to identify the Cuban government witness as an intelligence agent.

"The court denies the defense motion for mistrial and dismissal of charges and no further violations [by the prosecution] will be tolerated," Cardones said. "We will resume this trial."

The Cuban government witness, state security Lt. Col. Roberto Hernandez Caballero, had testified he was the principal investigator in the bombings.