denied links with Posada and his activities after the publication of the 1998 interview, and threatened The New York Times with legal action. Multiple members of the foundation, however, confirmed links with Posada. Arrest, conviction and release in Panama In October 1997 Posada was implicated in an assassination attempt on Fidel Castro, after four men were arrested by the US Coast Guard in a boat off the coast of Puerto Rico. He denied any involvement, and called the plot amateurish, but was believed to have been involved by the FBI. On November 17, 2000, Posada was discovered with 200 pounds of explosives in Panama City and arrested for plotting the assassination of Castro, who was visiting the country for the first time since 1959. Three other Cuban exiles were also arrested: Gaspar Jiménez who worked at the Cuban American National Foundation in Miami, Pedro Remón Rodríguez and Guillermo Novo. While in prison, Posada released a statement renouncing terrorism, and stating that he had been framed for the assassination attempt in Panama by the Cuban intelligence services. By mid-2001, $200,000 had been raised via efforts on Miami radio for a defense fund for Posada and his colleagues. Castro announced the alleged discovery of the plot on international television, describing Posada as "a cowardly man totally without scruples". He also blamed CANF for allegedly orchestrating the plot. Shortly after, Justino di Celmo, the father of Fabio di Celmo, the victim of one of the Havana bombings, appeared on Cuban television to urge the Panamanian authorities to extradite Posada to Cuba. Posada was subsequently convicted and jailed in Panama for the assassination attempt. Bardach described him as "Fidel Castro's most persistent would-be assassin. Posada was convicted of plotting to assassinate Castro; the plot allegedly involved using dynamite to blow up an auditorium full of college students. In August 2004, Posada and the three other convicted plotters were pardoned by outgoing Panamanian president Mireya Moscoso. Moscoso, who had been close to the Bush administration in the US, denied that she had been pressured by US officials to engineer a release of the men, and US officials said they were not involved. "This was a decision made by the government of Panama", said State Department spokesman J. Adam Ereli. "We never lobbied the Panamanian government to pardon anyone involved in this case, and I'd leave it to the government of Panama to discuss the action."