Although Fidel Castro isn't on trial with five of his intelligence agents, jurors heard Wednesday that the Cuban president closely monitored -- and applauded -- the double defection of agent Juan Pablo Roque, who secretly slipped back to Cuba the day before the 1996 Brothers to the Rescue shoot-down.

Four days after the Brothers' two Cessna airplanes were shot into the sea, killing four men, the chief of Cuban intelligence sent a shortwave radio message to his South Florida operatives, commending them for the ``success'' of Roque's defection plot, according to testimony in the Cuban spy trial in federal court in Miami.

The message alluded to Castro in his capacity as ``commander in chief'' and referred to his hands-on role in planning intelligence actions.

``The commander in chief has met with all of us on two occasions in order to analyze steps to be taken to continue the operation. He was very pleased with the job done,'' said the message, written Feb. 28, 1996, and read to jurors by FBI translator Susan Salomon.

The message did not refer to Operation Scorpion, the code name for what became the Brothers shoot-down. It was not clear from testimony whether Castro's pleasure extended to the shoot-down.

Cuba's intelligence headquarters sent its operatives another shortwave broadcast on March 1, 1996, delivering ``our profound recognition'' for ``Operation German'' -- a code name for Roque's defection, according to the government.

``Everything turned out well,'' the message was quoted as saying. ``The commander in chief visited him twice, [Roque] being able to exchange the details of the operation. We have dealt the Miami right a hard blow, in which your role has been decisive.''

The FBI intercepted the radio broadcasts but could not interpret their coded contents until seven months later, Salomon testified. Agents broke the code after seizing computer disks from the apartment of co-defendant Gerardo Hernández.

Another radio broadcast revealed that on June 6, Hernández and co-defendants René González and Antonio Guerrero were promoted in the Cuban military. Prosecutors contend that Hernández was being rewarded for providing key information to Havana that facilitated the shoot-down.

But defense attorney Paul McKenna, cross-examining Salomon, brought out that June 6 is the anniversary of Cuba's Ministry of the Interior, the powerful agency in charge of domestic security.