WASHINGTON (AP) -- Police say the four Cuban exiles had lethal intent when they were arrested, allegedly with explosives in their possession.

They were suspected of plotting to assassinate a head of state, Fidel Castro, but convicted only of a lesser charge of endangering public safety.

To some, it looked like a clear case of international terrorism. To others, the four were freedom fighters trying to liberate their homeland.

They were arrested in Panama during an Ibero-American summit in 2000 after Castro claimed he was being targeted for assassination.

However, Panamanian courts ruled there was not enough evidence to accuse the men of attempted murder. They were exonerated of the most serious charge facing them, possession of explosives, and convicted of the lesser charge of endangering public safety. All received prison sentences.

Debate over the case has resurfaced with the decision of Panamanian President Mireya Moscoso last week to pardon the four.

Among some Cuban-Americans in Miami, there was jubilation. The Cuban government was furious. The State Department declined to criticize Moscoso's action.

"This was a decision made by the government of Panama," State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli said. "We never lobbied the Panamanian government to pardon anyone involved in this case, and I'd leave it to the government of Panama to discuss the action."

Rep. William Delahunt, D-Massachusetts, said he was stunned to learn of the pardon, adding that the State Department loses credibility in refusing to voice outrage over the release of people he says are "assassins [and] terrorists."

Moscoso announced the pardon six days before the end of her term as president. President-elect Martin Torrijos was taking the oath of office Wednesday in the presence of U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and other foreign dignitaries.

The State Department response may have been influenced by election-year politics, particularly the administration's interest in keeping the Cuban-American vote in President Bush's column this November, much as it was in 2000.

Cuba has long complained about what it sees as a U.S. double standard on terrorism. It insists the United States harbors countless criminals from the pre-Castro military regime. It also alleges the United States has done nothing to stop Florida-based anti-Castro groups from launching armed attacks on the island.

In response, the United States maintains that Cuba supports groups on the U.S. list of foreign terrorist organizations and provides a haven for numerous fugitives from U.S. justice. Cuba is one of seven countries on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Moscoso said she decided on the pardon for humanitarian reasons, claiming she was fearful her successor would extradite the men to Cuba, where they would face a firing squad.

The circumstances of the pardon suggest close cooperation between the Panamanian government and wealthy Cuban-Americans in south Florida, one of whom chartered two small planes that picked up three of the exiles shortly after their release.

The fourth was Luis Posada Cariles, whom Castro has described as "the worst terrorist in the hemisphere." He is believed to be in Honduras.

Posada left Cuba after the 1959 revolution and has spent much of his life seeking Castro's ouster. He trained for the CIA-organized Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, though his group did not reach shore.

He is wanted by Venezuelan authorities for the 1976 bombing of a Cuban civilian jetliner that had taken off from Caracas. All 73 aboard were killed.

Posada and his colleagues say they were in Panama to help a Cuban official defect. They say they were framed by Cuban agents.

Many in south Florida see the four as heroes. Shortly after the convictions last April, more than 400 people turned up at a $100-a-plate fund-raiser in Miami to help cover the costs of an appeal. Their sentences ranged from seven to eight years.

With the pardon, no appeal was needed, and there were hugs and handshakes last Thursday as a welcoming crowd greeted the three exiles at Opa-locka Airport in Miami.

One, Guillermo Novo, was quoted by the Miami Herald as saying, "I dreamt of this day, but I did not have the confidence that it would come. This is a triumph. ... It was the Cuban exile community that did this."

Copyright 2004 The Associated Press.