Anti-Castro exile accused of 1976 plane explosion dies at 90

FILE PHOTO: Cuban exile and former CIA operative Luis Posada Carriles (C) takes part in a march in support of Cuba's Las Damas de Blanco, or the Ladies in White, on Calle Ocho in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami, Florida March 25, 2010. REUTERS/Joe Skipper

HAVANA (Reuters) - Militant anti-Castro Cuban exile and former CIA operative Luis Posada Carriles, accused of masterminding the explosion of a Cuban airliner 40 years ago, died early on Wednesday in the United States at the age of 90, his attorney's office said.

Posada Carriles was considered a hero by some Cuban exiles for his attempts to topple Fidel Castro's government following the 1959 revolution, while Cuba called him a terrorist unjustly given haven by the United States.