For some Cuban exiles, avowed militant Luis Posada Carriles is like the horsemen, a patriot who has long battled a fearsome oppressor. To his foes, Posada is like the waves, a dangerous force responsible for Havana hotel bombings, assassination attempts on Castro and one of the deadliest pre-9/11 airliner explosions.

To others, the 82-year-old is simply the farmer, a harmless relic living out his twilight.

Lawyers began picking jurors Monday in El Paso, Texas, to hear Posada's trial on federal charges connected to the decade-old bombings that killed an Italian tourist.

The case has been four years in the making, and Posada has spent much of that time painting his thoughts and memories. His art says much about the cagey former CIA asset, who remains a lightning rod in much of Latin America.

Publicly, Posada has remained much like the first painting -- defiant. Cocky even.

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More than 60 percent of Latinos say discrimination against Hispanics is a "major problem," up from 54 percent who said the same in 2007, according to a report to be released Thursday by the nonpartisan Pew Hispanic Center.

Three years ago, Hispanics were most likely to cite language skills as the biggest reason for discrimination. Now, more than a third believe immigration is the biggest factor.

That said, the number of Latinos who reported they, their family or close friends have experienced discrimination remained unchanged from last year and actually dropped from 2007.

Hispanics make up about 15 percent of the U.S. population and also comprise the vast majority of the country's roughly 11 million illegal immigrants.

The rise in concern comes as candidates, particularly Republicans, are increasingly featuring illegal immigration in their campaigns. U.S. Senate hopeful Republican Sharon Angle in Nevada has released ads linking her opponent Democratic Sen. Harry Reed to illegal immigrants with video of what appear to be scary-looking Latino gang members.

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