Saturday, October 31, 1998; 5:30 p.m. EST

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- Seven Cuban-Americans accused of conspiring to assassinate Cuban President Fidel Castro have asked that their trial be moved from Puerto Rico to Florida, a newspaper reported Saturday.

All the defendants have pleaded innocent, including a director of the Cuban American National Foundation, an exile group Castro often accuses of plotting to overthrow his government.

The defendants were indicted in Puerto Rico because they were intercepted off the coast of the island a year ago, allegedly on their way to kill Castro at a summit of Latin American leaders in Venezuela.

Lawyers for the defendants filed a motion saying the case should be moved to Miami, said El Nuevo Dia, a newspaper in San Juan. They said the move makes sense because most of the defendants live in the area and the alleged acts in the conspiracy occurred in Florida, the paper reported.