Reuters
                  Thursday, December 9, 1999; Page A41

                  SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, Dec. 8—A U.S. jury today found five Cuban
                  exiles, including a leader of a powerful Miami-based anti-Castro group,
                  not guilty of plotting to assassinate Cuban President Fidel Castro.

                  The case was the first time the Justice Department charged anyone with
                  plotting to kill Castro, an arch foe of the United States since his 1959
                  revolution.

                  U.S. authorities alleged that the men--some of whom were captured off
                  Puerto Rico on a boat loaded with military gear, including sniper
                  rifles--wanted to murder the communist leader at a 1997 Ibero-American
                  summit on Venezuela's Margarita Island.

                  The defense argued that the men were peaceful protesters and that the
                  weapons were to be used for protection against Cuban authorities.

                  The U.S. District Court jury deliberated for eight hours over two days
                  before finding Angel Alfonso, 59, Angel Hernandez Rojo, 62, Francisco
                  Secundino Cordova, 51, Jose Rodriguez Sosa, 59, and Jose Antonio
                  Llama, 67, not guilty on all counts.

                  The five were among seven stalwarts of the U.S. anti-Castro movement
                  charged with conspiracy to commit murder and weapons violations.
                  Charges against one of the men were dismissed last week, and another
                  was too sick to stand trial.

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