HAVANA, Dec 21, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Thousands of Cubans joined a protest Friday in front of the US embassy in Havana that was led by President Miguel Diaz-Canel and ex-leader Raul Castro against Washington's long-standing trade blockade.

"We are marching now to tell the US government to let the Cuban people live in peace. Down with interference!" Diaz-Canel told a crowd that had gathered a month before Republican Donald Trump returns to the White House.

Communist Cuba is enduring a worsening economic crisis that the government blames on US sanctions that have been in place since 1962 and were tightened during Trump's first term.

"If we didn't have the blockade, we would not be facing difficulty like this," said 85-year-old retiree Faustino Miranda.

The Caribbean nation faces a lack of food and medicine, frequent blackouts and a wave of emigration.

Rogelio Savigne, 55, head of transport at a state-owned company, told AFP: "We need them to open the doors for us to be able to trade with all countries."

Authorities said that 700,000 people marched in the capital on Friday. AFP was not able to independently verify that number.

Former president Castro, despite being aged 93, stood at the head of the march along with Diaz-Canel, who earlier Friday had blamed the US embargo for making this year "one of the most difficult" for Cuba.

On Tuesday, the country's deputy foreign minister reiterated its willingness to enter into a dialogue with Trump, who will take office on January 20.

During his first term, Trump halted an easing of relations between Washington and Havana that began in 2014.

He implemented 243 measures that reinforced the embargo, including the reincorporation of the island into the US blacklist of "countries that sponsor terrorism," alongside Iran and North Korea.

Current US President Joe Biden has kept Cuba on that list, but resumed discussions with Havana on counter-terrorism and combating illegal migration.