WASHINGTON -- The Clinton administration's Cuba-watching team is undergoing an unusually large changing of the guard this summer, with nine key officials rotating in both Havana and Washington.

Among the jobs affected are three top slots at the U.S. diplomatic mission in Cuba plus three senior assignments at the State Department and the National Security Council.

U.S. officials say the changes are routine personnel rotations and will not undermine U.S. diplomacy on Cuba. Three of the envoys going to Havana have a total of eight years' experience in Cuban affairs.

``We're in good shape, given the extensive experience of some of our people, said Vicki Huddleston, who will become head of the U.S. Interests Section, the diplomatic mission in Havana.

But other officials conceded they would have preferred to avoid such a large turnover at a time when Cuba's Communist regime appears to be sailing through some unusually rough economic and political waters.

``It's an unfortunate coincidence, said one Cuba watcher, noting that State Department overseas assignments are usually for two to three years. ``But it's a lot of change at a difficult time.

The latest change came Friday, when Michael Ranneberger wound up four years as director of the State Department's Office of Cuban Affairs in Washington. He has been nominated as ambassador to Mali.

Ranneberger will be replaced by Charles S. Shapiro, a former deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Chile who spent the last year at a special State Department seminar for senior diplomats.

Shapiro, who served previously in El Salvador and Trinidad and Tobago, has already spent several weeks in Ranneberger's office getting acquainted with its workings and studying the complexities of U.S. policy on Cuba.

Wide responsibilities

Two other jobs changing hands are posts at the State Department and National Security Council that have policy-level responsibilities not just for Cuba but for all Latin America.

John Hamilton, deputy assistant secretary of state for Western hemispheric affairs, is becoming ambassador to Peru. He will be replaced by Bill Brownfield, now with the State Department's International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Bureau, according to knowledgeable officials.

And Arturo Valenzuela, a Chilean-born academic who specializes in Latin American democratization issues, became head of the NSC's hemispheric section last month, replacing James Dobbins.

NSC chief Sandy Berger, who advises President Clinton on foreign policy, has long pushed for improving relations with Cuban President Fidel Castro far beyond the bounds advocated by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

Tops posts in Havana

Three other jobs changing hands this summer are top posts in Havana for diplomats who meet with Cuban officials and private citizens and report to Washington on political and economic developments.

Huddleston spent four years as chief and deputy chief of the Office of Cuban Affairs and more recently served as ambassador to Madagascar and deputy assistant secretary of state for Africa.

She replaces Michael Kozak, who is completing a three-year posting in Havana, normally a two-year assignment and considered a hardship posting because of the enmity between the United States and Cuba. He is expected to get a senior post in Washington.

Jeffrey DeLaurentis, executive assistant to assistant secretary of state Pete Romero, will go to Havana as the top political and economic officer, reporting on internal developments.

DeLaurentis, who served two years in the early 1990s in the Interests Section's consular office, will replace Gary Maybarduk, who was transferred to the U.S. Embassy in Venezuela.

Victor Vockerodt just finished two years at the Office of Cuban Affairs, handling relations with exile groups that support dissidents, and moved to Havana to become political officer in charge of reporting on Cuban human rights abuses.

He replaces Tim Brown, whose job often brought him into confrontation with government security agents. Brown's predecessor, Robin Meyer, was expelled by Cuban authorities in 1995.

Cuban Interests Section

``These changes affect just about the entire reporting side of the Interests Section, the people who are in daily contact with Cubans and write the cables to Washington, said one member of the U.S. Cuba-watching team.

Ron Kramer, the principal consular officer in Havana, also transferred last month to Mexico. And Doug Barnes, head of the U.S. Information Agency, will be replaced by Janet Edmonson, who arrives from Myamar, the former Burma.

Also changing hands this summer in Havana will be two lower-ranking political posts and one of the security jobs, monitoring the security of the building, diplomats and their homes.

Washington has the largest foreign mission in Havana, with some 20 U.S. officers and secretaries in the Interests Section plus a large number of Americans in the busy consular section and a small U.S. Marines guard detail.

Staying in their jobs for at least another year will be the deputy chiefs of the Interest Section and the Office of Cuban Affairs, John Boardman in Havana and Bob Witajewski in Washington.

``It's a lot of change, but that's the State Department for you, said one U.S. official. ``The rotations are to keep people fresh, but sometimes you get a whole fresh new group coming in. It happens.

e-mail: jtamayo@herald.com