Sending a message of solidarity to the opposition movement in Cuba on the day of President Obama's arrival, Cuban Americans in Little Havana marched from the Bay of Pigs Monument to a building that commemorates political prisoners Sunday.
"When Obama goes through the streets of Old Havana with his family, we will be thinking of the countless numbers of families that were uprooted and were separated," said Silvia Iriondo, with Mothers & Women Against Repression.
The Miami group chose to assemble on Sunday to pay tribute to the "Ladies in White" in Cuba who each week attend mass and then peacefully protest demanding freedom for political prisoners.
While President Obama was en route to the communist nation, the dissident group tweeted: "President Obama, while you travel to Cuba about 40 Ladies in White have been arrested."
During the arrests in Havana someone in the crowd said: "Easy, easy. The press is here."
"Many Cuban activists have been detained, so that President Obama lands in Cuba without a visible opposition in the island," said Ramon Saul Sánchez, with the Democracy Movement.
At the Little Havana protest, different groups and different generations stood together with a clear stance against the president's historic visit.
"I'm here today to show the young people in this community that we need to stand up for democracy and never take for granted the importance of what this country stands for," Cuban-American protester Vicente Lago said.
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"It is a sad day for America. Sad day for freedom, justice, and the pursuit of happiness," Miriam de la Pena said.
