The protest took place in the town of Cueto, 700 kilometers (435 miles) east of Havana, as the world marked the one-year anniversary of the US-led war.

Concerts, art exhibits and conferences to protest the war were planned throughout the Caribbean country of 11 million.

"The grave situation created by the criminal aggression in Iraq can only be resolved with the unconditional end to the illegal occupation, and with the Iraqi people enjoying its right to absolute independence in a united Iraq free of guardianship," party leaders told the protestors in a statement.

The United States has had a full economic embargo on Cuba since 1961, two years after President Fidel Castro took power.

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