HAVANA, Oct 18, (Xinhua): Thousands of Cubans gathered Friday in Havana to express solidarity with Venezuela and reject what they called growing U.S. interference in the South American country. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel led the rally, held along a main avenue in the Vedado district before the equestrian statue of Simon Bolivar.

The event brought together representatives of left-wing parties, delegates from several countries attending the Third International Meeting of Theoretical Publications of Left-Wing Parties and Movements, as well as local residents. Roberto Morales, secretary of organization of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, condemned what he called US "interventionist plans" against Venezuela and highlighted the collection of more than 4.3 million Cuban signatures in solidarity with the Venezuelan people.

"We defend Venezuela from here and through every social mission our country maintains in that sister nation," Morales said, calling for "respectful dialogue and unity instead of exclusion." Participants waved Venezuelan flags and held banners denouncing the U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean, describing it as a direct threat to the region's sovereignty.

"These threats against Venezuela are also threats against all of Latin America," said Omar Olivares, a 57-year-old Havana resident who joined the demonstration early in the morning. Diaz-Canel reaffirmed Cuba's support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, writing on social media platform X: "At a time when the empire and its reckless leader authorize CIA covert operations against Venezuela, we express our solidarity with that brotherly people and especially with President Nicolas Maduro."