NATION IN BRIEF

Castro Opponents Plead Guilty in Weapons Case

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MIAMI -- Two anti-Castro crusaders pleaded guilty Monday to one count of conspiracy in connection with a case in which prosecutors had accused them of maintaining an illegal stash of machine guns and explosives.

Santiago Alvarez, 65, and Osvaldo Mitat, 64, his employee, face up to five years in prison. The pleas came a day before jury selection for their trial was to start in Fort Lauderdale. If convicted at trial, they could have faced 20 years in prison.

The plea "recognizes that they are enemies of Castro, not the United States," Alvarez's attorney Kendall Coffey told the Associated Press. "But even patriots are accountable."

They will be sentenced Nov. 14.

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