New Anti-blockade Protest in CubaMore than 50,000 Cubans staged a protest rally on Saturday in the city of Colon, western Cuba, demanding an end of the four-decade U.S. blockade to their country.Students, doctors, feminist leaders, teachers and peasants joined the protest. Some made speeches criticizing El Salvadoran President Francisco Flores and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar. During the Ibero-American summit held in Panama City last month, Cuban leader Fidel Castro rejected a proposal raised by Flores for condemning Spain's Basque separatist group ETA's use of violence, arguing that the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba should also be condemned as terrorism. The protesters also requested the extradition of Luis Posada Carriles, who had been accused by Castro of plotting to assassinate him and then was arrested with three other complices in Panama City during the regional summit. The Cuban government has accused Carriles of being involved in several terrorist actions, including the 1976 bombing of a Cuban plane, which killed 73 people on board, and the 1997 bomb campaign. At the summit, Castro also criticized Flores for allowing Carriles to reside in his country. Cuban Vice President and Defense Minister Raul Castro also participated in the protest. |
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