When: Monday January 14th, 12 noon
Where: Miami Office of Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen 8660 West Flagler Street, Suite 131

CODEPINK: Women for Peace condemns the violent climate in Miami perpetrated by certain sectors of the community and calls on Cong. Ros-Lehtinen to denounce violence and attacks against those with differing viewpoints.
On Saturday, January 12, six CODEPINK members peacefully tried to gather signatures calling on the FBI to arrest a known terrorist, Luis Posada Carriles, who is living freely in Miami. Before the women could even park their vehicle outside the Versailles Restaurant, they were attacked by a violent mob. The FBI and Miami- Dade police, despite previous guarantees, failed to provide the group with protection.

"Miami is supposed to be part of the United States, not a city of anarchy controlled by violent mobs," says CODEPINK member Tighe Barry, who was driving the CODEPINK vehicle when it was attacked while police stood by.

The group wants to discuss the Congresswoman's involvement in the release from Panamanian jails of four persons involved in terrorist acts, in particular Luis Posada Carriles, a known terrorist who entered our country illegally and who is living openly in the Miami area. They also are very concerned that she tried to prevent FBI investigators from going to Cuba to obtain further information concerning Posada Carriles' involvement in hotel bombings in Havana in 1997 that left an Italian tourist dead.

The group also wants to discuss the attack on their free speech rights. They claim that the Miami police, FBI, and elected officials are all colluding with the most undemocratic elements of the community who condone terrorist acts against civilians—as reflected by their support for Posada Carriles—and have no respect for free speech and free assembly. "We will ask the Congresswoman to condemn attacks against those who question why known terrorists are living openly in her city," says CODEPINK cofounder Medea Benjamin, who received death threats after she denounced Posada Carriles on the Miami-based TV show Arrebatados. "We intend to return to Miami in the future to pursue this campaign and we want to be assured that this time, our safety will be protected."

The group will also go at 9am to the Miami FBI office (16320 Northwest 2nd Avenue, North Miami Beach) to question the FBI about why they destroyed evidence pertaining to the Carriles case. They will also drop off signed cards asking the FBI to put Posada Carriles on the Most Wanted List and for our government to arrest or extradite this dangerous man to Venezuela, where he is a wanted on 73 counts of first degree murder for the bombing of a civilian airliner.