Cuban expert takes stand in ex-CIA agent's case

By WILL WEISSERT Associated Press

EL PASO, Texas (AP) - A federal judge has ignored a defense motion to delay the testimony of two experts from Cuba in the perjury trial of an ex-CIA agent.

Lt. Col. Roberto Hernandez Caballero, a Cuban Interior Ministry investigator, has taken the stand Wednesday to testify in the trial of 82-year-old Luis Posada Carriles, also of Cuba.

U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone ruled that Hernandez can testify about the death of an Italian tourist killed in a 1997 Havana hotel bombing that prosecutors say Posada planned. A Cuban medical examiner is also expected to testify about the bombing.

The experts' testimonies constitute a rare measure of cooperation between the U.S. and Cuba.

Prosecutors allege Posada lied about how he sneaked into the U.S. in 2005 and failed to acknowledge planning the Havana bombings.