BY TERE FIGUERAS

                      A family of exiles detained after a trip to Cuba has been given the all-clear by Cuban officials and will be arriving
                      in Miami today, relatives said.

                      For two weeks, Maikel Lopez had been waiting to hear what was to happen to his parents, grandmother and
                      6-year-old sister.

                      The foursome, visiting their native town of Jicotea in the province of Villa Clara, had their passports and visas
                      taken from them, family members said. They suspected retribution from the Cuban government for the recent
                      defection of other family members from the communist island.

                      ''I didn't know what was going on, or how serious it was,'' said Lopez, a Miami-Dade Community College student
                      living in North Miami Beach. ``But my father managed to get to a phone around 5 p.m. and call me. He had his
                      passport in his hand.''

                      Luis Lopez, 46, and the owner of a grocery chain in East Orange, N.J., flew with wife Mireya, 43, on Feb. 23 for
                      what was intended to be a one-week visit.

                      Traveling with the couple: their U.S.-born daughter, Vanessa, 6, and Luis' 69-year-old mother, Aida.

                      Luis Lopez, who emigrated to the United States 14 years ago, planned on visiting his brother Rolando on his ranch
                      in Jicotea. But when they arrived, Rolando and his family weren't there.

                      The Lopezes called home and discovered that Rolando -- along with his wife and 3-year-old daughter -- had flown
                      to Miami using fake papers. Immigration and Naturalization officials released them after two days.

                      Maikel Lopez said he suspects the Cuban government seized his family's passports as payback for possibly
                      assisting Rolando and his family to flee. However, Maikel Lopez said his family was not aware their relatives were
                      planning to defect.

                      The case prompted two New Jersey Democrats in Congress -- Sen. Robert Torricelli and Rep. Robert Menendez of
                      Union City -- to contact U.S. diplomats in Cuba in hopes of learning the fate of the New Jersey Lopezes.

                      The Cuban government has not made any statements regarding the Cliffside Park family. Officials could not be
                      reached for comment Friday.