Convicted men's families arrive

 BY GAIL EPSTEIN NIEVES

 They sat on opposite sides of a stately old Miami courtroom Monday, two sets of Cubans separated not just by long wooden pews but by politics and bloodshed and all the related animosities stirred up by the one thing that could have brought them together: the Cuban spy sentencings.

 On the right: Relatives of four of the five convicted Cuban spies, flown in from the island.

 On the left: relatives of the four slain Brothers to the Rescue fliers, who were shot down by Cuban fighter jets on Feb. 24, 1996, with the complicity of convicted spy
 master Gerardo Hernández.

 Hernández's fate will be meted out first, today, in the presence of his mother, Carmen Nordelo. She and the other visitors from Cuba waved eagerly and smiled at the five men Monday at the conclusion of a court hearing before U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard.

 Then the group of 13 banded together to quickly move outside the ornate Central Courtroom, careful to avoid contact with the Miami contingent, which stayed inside.

 Also in court from Cuba were Magali Llort, mother of spy Fernando González; Irma Sehwerwt and Irmita González, mother and older daughter of spy René González; and Mirta Rodriguez, mother of spy Antonio Guerrero.

 Spy Ramón Labañino's wife, Elizabeth Palmeiro, did not receive a visa in time to travel with the rest of the group and was not in court.

 Hernández, Guerrero and Labañino face life sentences for their roles in a spy network that sought to infiltrate U.S. military bases and to discredit Cuban exile groups. All three were convicted of espionage conspiracy; Hernández also was found guilty of murder conspiracy.

 The two Gonzálezes, who are not related, were convicted of lesser charges and face sentences of up to 10 years.

 The men all acknowledge working for the Cuban government, but say their goal was to stop exile-sponsored terror attacks against the island. They've been behind bars since their arrests in September 1998.

 Lawyers for the five argued for lighter sentences during Monday's hearing. Prosecutors opposed the motions. Labañino's sentencing is scheduled for Wednesday, René González's for Thursday and Fernando González's for next Monday. Guerrero's was postponed until Dec. 27.

 With the spies' relatives were two representatives of the International Action Center, a New York- and San Francisco-based anti-war group that is running a campaign called, "Free the Five!'' that refers to the Cuban spies as ``U.S.-held Cuban political prisoners.''