Civil liberties lawyers threatened to sue Miami-Dade County Saturday and Mayor Alex Penelas pledged to review a decision by county bureaucrats to ban sales of the latest edition of Cigar Aficionado magazine at Miami International Airport.

``Just as it's wrong to censor protesters at the upcoming Cuba-Baltimore Orioles game on Monday, it's wrong to censor something based on its contents if you don't agree with what it says,'' Penelas told The Herald. ``I don't know what prompted the decision of the airport authority.''

Cigar Aficionado's June edition features extensive lifestyle and tourism information about Cuba, a destination that is off-limits to most Americans because of a decades-old embargo against spending U.S. dollars there. It also advocates a reexamination of Washington's sanctions policy.

Airport spokesman Hernando Vergara said county bureaucrats objected to the tone of the 282-page magazine because it was ``very flattering to the Cuban government,'' not because of the discussion of the embargo.

Thursday, the county authority that runs the airport instructed Sirgany Century Inc., which operates all 18 airport newsstands, to withhold sales of the $4.95 edition whose cover features photos of President Clinton and Fidel Castro and the headline, Cuba: Is it time to end the embargo?

John de Leon, president of the Miami Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, learned of the Dade action on Saturday afternoon and pledged to ``line up some lawyers'' and challenge the ban.

``It's clearly actionable behavior by the county,'' said de Leon, a Cuban-American attorney who was born in South Florida. ``The ACLU would be prepared to take action on this . . . This is a blatant attempt at suppression of what is perceived by some as an unpopular viewpoint in this community. And that suppression of speech by government officials or government bureaucrats is in clear violation of the First Amendment.''

He called the ban ``simply outrageous . . . I'm just disgusted to see that it's still going on. The county is doing exactly what we're supposed to be fighting against -- lack of basic freedoms in Cuba.''

Another ACLU member, Lida Rodriguez, said other South Florida attorneys had also discussed how to challenge the county.

Penelas made his remarks before the ACLU threat, in reply to a request from The Herald for on opinion on the ban. He said he spent part of Saturday trying to reach officials involved in it, but was unsuccessful.

So he said he would clarify the reasoning behind the ban on Monday.

The mayor added that he had not read the magazine, which typically features a celebrity chomping on a stogie.

``As a general rule, you should not be censoring based on contents,'' he said. ``Next week I'll try to find out what prompted the decision . . . Yes, I will look at the decision.''

Dade County attorney Robert Ginsburg declined to answer a question Saturday on whether such a ban would be legal. He said he would express an opinion only if he were asked to officially.

Assistant county attorney Roy S. Wood Jr., meantime, told The Herald that he was consulted by telephone on Thursday or Friday about the ban by Myra Bustamonte, assistant director of the Aviation Department.

``My position is at the time I was requested for advice over the telephone, I could not conceive of any legal objection to it -- and still cannot,'' said Wood, who is assigned to work on airport matters.

Bustamonte could not be reached for comment Saturday. But airport spokeswoman Lauren Stover said that the ban was decided at a meeting of ``a few people,'' from the airport's properties and business divisions.

It was ``too sensitive of an issue for one person to decide autonomously to pull the magazine,'' she said.

Stover said Aviation Director Gary J. Dellapa supported the ban. Dellapa could not be reached either Friday evening or Saturday to discuss it. Penelas said he was unable to reach Dellapa on Saturday as well.

Neither Penelas nor County Manager Merrett Stierheim was consulted in advance about the ban. Both men said they first learned about it in Saturday's Herald.

``I know it's a very sensitive issue in this community. I can't comment to the legality,'' said Stierheim, referring questions to Ginsburg. ``I've never seen the magazine, and I really was not involved in this at all.''

Saturday, he said, he had not heard ``a word'' of protest the ban.

Eighteen readers, however, protested to The Herald in e-mail Saturday.

One characteristic complaint came from Miami's Jose Sanfiel, 33, who came here from Cuba at age 5 months: ``After 40 years of living in a democracy, the Cubans at the airport authority still do not understand. My parents left Cuba because someone did not want them to read, say and worship whatever they wished. They are creating the same atmosphere.''

e-mail: crosenberg@herald.com