By GERARDO REYES Herald Staff Writer

One of four Miami-based Cuban exiles arrested Monday in Puerto Rico said weapons found in their boat were to be used in
an assassination attempt against Cuban President Fidel Castro at the Ibero-American Summit Conference next week,
according to a U.S. Customs special agent.

The conference will be held Nov. 7-9 on Venezuela's Margarita Island.

Customs agent Ismael Padilla said Thursday at a court hearing in San Juan that Angel Manuel Alfonso admitted to the
assassination plans after law enforcement agents found two .50-caliber sniper rifles, along with seven 10-round boxes of
ammunition, in the boat.

The other three Cubans were identified as Angel Hernandez Rojo, Juan Bautista Marquez and Francisco Secundino Cordova,
all over the age of 40. All four were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder and illegal possession of firearms.

Padilla's account of the events was as follows:

Monday afternoon, U.S. Coast Guard vessels spotted a 46-foot boat apparently adrift off the coast of Cabo Rojo, in Puerto
Rico's southwest. The boat -- named La Esperanza and reportedly registered at the Club Nautico Deportivo of Miami --
showed structural damage and was taking on water.

Despite the occupants' insistence on resuming their voyage, the Coast Guard agents ordered them to proceed to the Puerto
Rican police department's dock in Aguadilla.

When questioned, the Cubans first said they were fishing, but later said they were sailing to St. Lucia, in the Windward Islands,
to sell the boat.

Because of the conflicting statements, the agents searched the vessel, finding the two sniper rifles, the ammunition, three fatigue
uniforms, field rations and communications equipment.

The .50-caliber sniper rifle, designed for military use and manufactured by Barrett Firearms of Tennessee, is powerful enough
to down a plane or damage an armored vehicle, the agents said. Its effective range is half a mile.

Judge Jesus Castellanos dismissed the charge of conspiracy, saying there was not enough evidence to support it, but upheld the
charge of illegal possession of firearms.

The suspects, who are represented by well-known Puerto Rican lawyers, were remanded to Guainao Detention Center. A
second hearing was set for today to review the conspiracy charges.

This report was supplemented with Herald wire services.