Rodriguez Llerena, 40, was on trial for committing acts of terrorism. He had confessed to planting a bomb in the Melia-Cohiba hotel on Aug. 4, 1997, and to transporting two other bombs to Havana, where he was captured.

Rodriguez Llerena allegedly hoped to destroy such national monuments as the museum and tomb of legendary leftist guerrilla leader Ernesto ``Che'' Guevara in the central city of Santa Clara, which draws large numbers of Cuban and foreign tourists.

Prosecutors had first asked that Llerena be jailed for 30 years. In an unexpected twist, they changed their sentencing request to death by firing squad.

Ernesto Cruz Leon, 27, another Salvadoran, faces death by firing squad for six Havana bombings, one of which killed Italian tourist Fabio di Celmo in September 1997. Cruz Leon was sentenced on March 23.

Under Cuban law, both sentences must be approved by the Supreme People's Tribunal. If that court endorses the death penalty, a final decision will be made by the 31-member State Council headed by President Fidel Castro.

The State Council could impose the death penalty or commute the sentence to 30 years in jail.