You’d think that defending a terrorist responsible for blowing an airliner out of the sky and killing 73 people would be seen as a dark spot on the career of a lawyer considered for appointment to the Florida Supreme Court. But ‘zero tolerance on terrorism’ apparently doesn’t extend to Raoul Cantero, who was appointed to the Florida Supreme Court by Governor Jeb Bush July 10.
Cantero, 41, was part of the legal team that represented Orlando Bosch, who was convicted of masterminding the bombing of a Cuban airliner and killing the 73 passengers aboard. He was pardoned by Bush, Sr.
Cantero calls Bosch “a Cuban patriot.”
After his appointment, Cantero said that “as an American whose family escaped a totalitarian regime, I have learned to appreciate and defend democratic values and the rule of law.” Sounds good, except that his family IS a totalitarian regime, Cantero is the grandson of Fulgencio Batista, the Cuban dictator who was overthrown in the 1959 revolution.
Cantero has publicly expressed his opposition to legal abortion, and has never before served as a judge.
Attorney General Bob Butterworth praised Jeb Bush’s selection of Cantero, stating “I believe this particular appointment could very well define his governorship.” We have no argument there.
—Gainesville (Florida) Iguana, July/August 2002 (Vol. 16, # 10-11) P.O. Box 14712, Gainesville, FL 32604 www.afn.org/~iguana Jenny Brown, co-editor