U.S. government deception in the Luis Posada scandal: Information manipulation theory

This article examines the role of U.S. government deception in the handling of the anti-Castro terrorist Luis Posada. The Luis Posada scandal involved more than just the terrorist; it also involved the questionable collaboration of several U.S. presidents, government officials, and agencies with entities in Cuban-exile communities. The theoretical framework used in this analysis is information manipulation theory, which postulates that information is packaged through manipulative messages; it is transmitted from a sender who gives false information to a receiver, the audience. An important conclusion of this analysis is that U.S. federal employees propagated lies and deception for political gain. They also contributed to deceiving the U.S. audience by breaking the oath that no anti-Castro terrorists such as Luis Posada would be harbored or protected.