Demonstrators block traffic in Miami area to support Cuban protesters

Demonstrators waving Cuban flags and calling for change on the Communist-run island blocked a major highway and staged other protests in the Miami area on Tuesday in support of the wave of demonstrations that rocked Cuba on Sunday.

The Miami area has long been home to the largest Cuban exile community and a focal point for anti-Castro sentiment.

The South Florida demonstrators sought to replicate the protests by thousands of Cubans on Sunday who denounced a deep economic crisis, shortages of basic goods and power outages in the largest showing of unrest in decades. read more

"If Cuba is in the street, Miami is too," many chanted.

Dozens of demonstrators shut down the Palmetto Expressway for several hours.