SAN JUAN -- A federal prosecutor urged jurors Monday to ignore Cuba's human
 rights record when they begin deliberating the fate of five Cuban exiles accused of
 plotting to kill Fidel Castro.

 Prosecutors claim the five men broke U.S. law by plotting to kill Castro during a
 1997 summit in Venezuela. But defense lawyers have emphasized that the men
 suffered as dissidents against Castro's government.

 During closing arguments Monday in U.S. District Court, prosecutor Scott Glick
 said the defendants' treatment in Cuba is not relevant. ``What is not an issue in
 this case is whether or not Fidel Castro is a brutal dictator,'' he said.