Miami ( CNN ) -- Luis Posada Carriles told CNN recently he would `` be gentle '' with a newspaper reporter who accused him of masterminding decades of violent terrorist attacks in Central America , several to overthrow Fidel Castro . Known as `` Bambi '' by his Miami-Cuban supporters , the octogenarian fighter turned fugitive had harsher words for Fidel Castro , his lifetime foe . `` If he walked through that door , I would kill him , '' Posada said . But far from a docile fawn , critics say , Posada is behind a string of hotel bombings and other deadly attacks in Latin America , including the 1976 bombing of a Cuban jetliner that killed 73 people on board . He denies all allegations . Still wanted by Venezuela and Cuba for `` terrorist acts , '' Posada , who lives with his family in Miami , said he was elated when a jury in El Paso , Texas , found him not guilty earlier this month on 11 counts ranging from perjury to subversion . `` It was hugely emotional to hear it , 'not guilty , not guilty , not guilty , not guilty ' 11 times , '' he said . `` What more can I say ? It is a country of justice . '' Venezuela has dismissed as `` farce '' the Texas jury 's decision to acquit Posada , who faced charges of lying to U.S. immigration officials and involvement in attacks on Cuba . If convicted , he would have faced five to eight years in prison . Posada 's reclusive and elusive life story as a U.S. protegee and eventually a diplomatic liability is a sore point in the history of U.S. relations with Latin America . Born in Cuba , Posada dedicated his life to anti-Marxist , anti-Castro covert activities . Wanted by some nations and sheltered by others , Posada 's journeys through some Latin American nations during civil wars illustrate the checkered political map of the region as the U.S. sought to undermine Marxist movements in Central America , many backed by Cuba 's Castro regime . Posada became a CIA operative in the 1960s after leaving Cuba . In the 1970s , he was working for the Venezuelan secret police when the Cubana Airlines flight blew up , killing 73 . Suspects arrested identified Posada as one of the plotters . Posada was jailed for nine years in Venezuela , but he was never convicted and escaped in 1985 . He denies all charges . `` In the beginning , as the chief of operations for the Venezuelan Police , Cuba disembarked three generals on Venezuelan soil , '' Posada told CNN en Espanol anchor Fernando Rincon . `` The operation against these people was a violent one . It was the only way to suppress a Communist incursion into Venezuela , '' he said . Posada received CIA training in explosives and sabotage at Fort Benning , Georgia , after helping to organize the failed Bay of Pigs operation to oust Castro in 1961 . He said he stopped working for the CIA in 1968 but in the 1980s helped the U.S.-backed secret Contra supply network in Central America . According to CIA declassified files , Posada enlisted fighters to overthrow the Guatemalan government in 1965 and other covert , anti-Communist activities throughout the region . The declassified CIA documents allege he organized large shipments of ammunition and weaponry throughout . In El Salvador in the mid-1980s , Posada told CNN , he became a presidential protegee when he helped the government fight Marxist guerrillas . `` I had a presidential minder greet me , '' Posada said . `` I had support from the military . '' Posada was also implicated in a string of terrorist bombings in Cuba in 1997 that killed 11 people in a tourist area . A senior official familiar with Posada 's career said the CIA considers him `` radioactive '' and said he is no longer linked to the agency . But Posada , now celebrating his victory in U.S. courts , said he would give his life to Cuba but sees no reason to fight . `` I do n't need to engage in the armed struggle against Cuba , '' Posada told CNN . `` The battle against Cuba has already been won . They do n't exist anymore . They are falling to pieces , '' he said . CNN 's Fernando Rincon and Helena de Moura contributed to this report .
Luis Posada Carriles activist Posada was acquitted by Cuba court . Extradition to U.S. and Cuba blocked by U.S. courts . `` The battle against Cuba has already been won , '' Luis Posada Carriles says . Human rights activists say he was behind hotel bombings , other deadly attacks in Latin America .