penal (and not the military) code... Civilians and common law crimes are not subject to the dispositions of the Code of Military Justice." Civilian trial The four were then charged with aggravated homicide and treason before a civilian court. On 8 August 1985, Venezuelan judge Alberto Perez Marcano of the 11th Penal Court convicted Lugo and Ricardo, sentencing them each to twenty years in prison. The judge reduced the penalty to its lowest limit "due to the extenuating circumstance of no prior criminal records." Orlando Bosch was acquitted, because the evidence gathered by the Barbados authorities during the investigation could not be used in the Venezuela trial, as it was presented too late and had not been translated into Spanish. Posada fled from the San Juan de los Morros penitentiary on the eve of the pronouncement of his sentence. He had been confined there following two previous failed escape attempts. Allegations were made that Venezuelan authorities were bribed to help him escape. No verdict was entered against Posada because, according to the Venezuelan Penal Code, judicial proceedings cannot continue without the presence of the accused. The court issued an arrest warrant against him which lasted until his death. Aftermath A different judge then ordered the case reviewed by a higher court. The Venezuelan government declined to appeal the case any further, and in November 1987 Bosch was freed. He had spent 11 years in jail despite having been acquitted twice. Lugo and Lozano were released in 1993 and continue to reside in Venezuela. Posada then fled to Panama and to the United States. In April 2005, a new warrant for his arrest in connection with the bombing was issued in Venezuela by the government of Hugo Chávez. However, a U.S. immigration judge ruled that Posada should not be deported to Cuba or Venezuela because he could be subject to torture in those countries. In 2007, Congressman Bill Delahunt and Jose Pertierra, an immigration lawyer representing the government of Venezuela, argued that Posada could be deported on the grounds that the U.S. was making an exception for Posada. Because, they argued, the U.S. practices extraordinary rendition involving the seizure and transportation of suspected terrorists to Syria and Egypt, both of which practice torture, the U.S. could also deport Posada, a terrorist, to Cuba or Venezuela. Freed from Venezuelan charges, Bosch went to the United States, assisted by US Ambassador to Venezuela