ROANOKE TIMES 

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 29, 1993                   TAG: 9309290046
SECTION: NATL/INTL                    PAGE: A-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: MIAMI                                LENGTH: Short

PILOT DESCRIBES DEMORALIZED CUBAN MILITARY

Cuban military commanders are preparing their forces to attack domestic dissidents, and angry civilians are stoning officers in the streets of Havana, one of Cuba's former top gun pilots said Tuesday.

Defecting Cuban air force Capt. Leonides Basulto - who flew security for President Fidel Castro - described a Cuban military demoralized by growing poverty and civilian hostility.

"Officers have been told, `When you go to Havana, don't wear your uniform - they'll throw stones at you,' " he told reporters.

Basulto, 32, landed his MiG-23 Thursday at the U.S. base on Cuba's Guantanamo Bay, after completing a practice bombing session 60 or 70 miles away. Just six days earlier, another Cuban pilot flew a dilapidated MiG-21 trainer into Key West. Basulto said he didn't have enough fuel to reach Key West.

- Associated Press 


 by CNB