In May of 2009 suspected Nazi war criminal John Demjanjuk, 89, was deported from the United States to Germany where he was charged with the murder of 29,000 Jews.
He had lived in the United States for decades and had even become a U.S. citizen. Neither circumstance could protect him from his crimes as a Nazi guard. Other former Nazis have been deported from the United States and countries in Europe and South America. Their crimes against humanity are not covered by any statute of limitations.
Now another criminal is walking the streets of South Florida and already has his U.S. residency. He is former Cuban Col. Cresencio Marino Rivero, who used to be the man in charge of all political prisons in the province of Villa Clara, Cuba.
Mind you, there is an enormous difference between the millions of Jews killed by the Nazis during the Holocaust and the thousands who have died in Cuba's dungeons. This is not a question of numbers. It is a question of justice to determine if criminals can escape prosecution by leaving the country where they were responsible for the abuse of innocent civilians.
The horrible thing about Marino Rivero is he admits what his job was in Cuba. He admits he did not tell the truth about his job or party affiliation in the papers he sought to enter to the United States and also omitted them from the papers required for him to become a U.S. resident alien.
Marino Rivero, a lawyer in Cuba, simply told Channel 41 in Miami and TVMarti in an interview that somebody filed the papers for him and he never had abused any prisoners in his custody. Former Cuban political prisoners in South Florida and dissidents in Cuba say he lies.
The case against Marino Rivero, one that seeks to revoke his residency and to deport him, now is being handled on the legal front by Wilfredo Allen, an immigration lawyer, and on the political front by Republican Congressmen Mario Díaz-Balart and Ileana Ross-Lehtinen.
In both cases they point to Marino Rivero's television interviews where he said his job in Cuba though 1996 had been to "supervise and monitor the judicial performance of chiefs and officials of the penal system in the province of Villa Clara." And that he had been a member of Cuba's Communist Party.
He also admitted to both Channel 41 and TVMarti that he had not informed U.S. officials of his position with the Cuban government. Both the document requesting a visa to the United States and the one for people seeking legal residence in this country require applicants fill questionnaires where they are asked whether he or she had ever been a member of the Communist Party. In this case, Rivero admitted he did not mention his government and party affiliations, nor did he include his job in charge of the jails in the province of Villa Clara.
The two South Florida congressmen are taking it to the highest levels of the administration. In a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, to Attorney General Eric Holder, Jr., and to secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, they request the "immediate expulsion from the United States of Cresencio Marino Rivero."
Allen, the long-time immigration lawyer, is going after the same thing, but he is going directly to the local officials in charge of this case.
Allen contends the document requesting a visa has a question about the applicant's prior links to the Communist Party. And then the one where he seeks legal U.S. residency has at least five questions that, if answered, would have disqualified Marino Rivero from obtaining his legal residency. In addition to his prior links to Cuba's Communist Party, they also ask if he has had any military training; if he has been in charge of any jails in the island; and if he has had any formal military training.
In order to have obtained his legal papers, either the immigration officer neglected to do his job, or Marino Rivero lied. The record already shows that he lied. Marino Rivero has also said those former prisoners and dissidents who have accused them of brutality are "liars."
Allen is going directly to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who would have been in charge of this interview. The case will then percolate up through the bureaucracy.
These cases take time. But for justice to prevail Cresencio Marino Rivero should be deported back to Cuba.
Guillermo I. Martínez on Twitter at @g_martinez123, or email him at Guimar123@gmail.com
