The US government has rejected a Venezuelan extradition request for Luis Posada Carriles, a Cuban exile wanted for bombing a Cuban airliner in 1976, the State Department said Friday.

"We have sent a diplomatic note to the Venezuelan embassy today, saying that the request lacked sufficient basis from a legal point of view," a State Department official, who asked not to be named, told reporters.

Posada Carriles, 77, is under arrest in the United States on an immigration violation after seeking political asylum.

Venezuela has demanded the extradition of Posada Carriles to stand trial for the downing of a Cuban airliner with 73 passengers aboard in 1976.

Posada Carriles is also wanted in Cuba for the bombings of two Havana tourist hotels in 2000, in which an Italian businessman died.

Source: Xinhua