Cuba hoisted 138 huge black flags bearing a white star in front of the U.S. diplomatic mission in Havana Feb. 6, blocking an electronic sign streaming news and political messages.

After the flags were raised, Cubans began a 24-hour vigil in front of the mission, during which they vowed to hold huge posters with the faces of victims of the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion, a 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner, a string of Havana hotel blasts in the late 1990s, and other events they blame on the United States.
       

Cuban President Fidel Castro (R) attends an event outside the U.S. diplomatic mission in Havana, Cuba on Feb. 6. Hundreds of Cubans hoisted 138 huge black flags bearing a white star in front of the U.S. diplomatic mission in Havana to mourn for the victims of the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion, a 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner, a string of Havana hotel blasts in the late 1990s, and other events they blame on the United States on that day.

Cuban students hold photographs of victims of the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion, the 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner, a string of Havana hotel blasts in the late 1990s, and other events they blame on the United States while standing underneath black flags outside the US diplomatic mission in Havana Feb. 6, 2006. Cuba hoisted 138 huge black flags bearing a white star in front of the U.S. diplomatic mission in Havana, blocking an electronic sign streaming news and political messages on that day.

Cubans observe a minute of silence for the victims from events such as the Bay of Pigs invasion and the bombing of a Cuban plane while standing underneath black flags outside the US diplomatic mission in Havana Feb. 6.

Huge flag poles with 138 black flags, each centered with a white star, block an electronic sign beaming messages from the facade of the U.S. diplomatic mission in Havana February 6, 2006.

Editor: Yan