BY GAIL EPSTEIN NIEVES

 The fate of five accused Cuban spies will rest with a six-man, six-woman jury that
 includes no Cuban Americans, after jurors were selected Tuesday for a trial
 scheduled to start today.

 Those chosen include five Hispanics -- from Colombia, the Dominican Republic,
 Puerto Rico and elsewhere. One of them said during questioning that she was
 hijacked to Cuba in 1984 while returning to Miami from Puerto Rico, but beyond
 that the jurors have few family or social connections to Cuba.

 Three white non-Hispanics, three blacks and one Asian make up the balance of
 the jury for the trial, which could last into March. The proceeding is expected to
 open a window into the clandestine spy world and shine new light on the main
 players: the U.S. government, the Cuban government and some Miami-based
 exile organizations.

 Four alternate jurors also were chosen. They are a man from Venezuela, two
 white non-Hispanics and one black woman. Scheduling problems could prompt
 the replacement of one or more of those people.

 The prosecution objected Tuesday to the defense attorneys' release of all
 candidates of Cuban heritage. The defense contested the prosecution's removal of
 five blacks. But U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard heard explanations and ruled that
 both sides provided racially neutral reasons for dropping people.

 ``The man I represent is charged with being a Cuban spy and with involvement in
 shooting down one of the Brothers to the Rescue planes,'' said Paul McKenna,
 lawyer for accused spy ringleader Gerardo Hernandez. ``The emotions regarding
 those issues are so charged in our community that I just felt we would not get a
 fair hearing with Cuban Americans on the jury.''

 Hernandez faces the most serious charge: conspiracy to commit murder in the
 deaths of four Brothers fliers who were shot down by Cuban MiGs in 1996.

 If convicted, he faces life in prison.

 The defendants were arrested in 1998 on an indictment that ultimately charged a
 14-member spy ring. Three of them are accused of penetrating U.S. military
 installations and passing on defense secrets to the Cuban government.

 The makeup and political leanings of the jury have been crucial to the defendants
 because they acknowledge acting on orders from the Cuban government but say
 they were feeding information about militant Cuban exiles in Miami to the FBI
 during an outbreak of bombings at Cuban tourist centers in 1997.

 If convicted, Luis Medina and Antonio Guerrero also face life sentences. Ruben
 Campa and Rene Gonzalez would face 10-year terms if convicted as unregistered
 foreign agents.

 Five other defendants reached plea bargains requiring them to cooperate, and four
 are fugitives believed to be in Cuba.