HAVANA (XINHUA) - A car, motorbike, and bicycle caravan on Sunday (March 28) made its way through Havana's sea boulevard, demanding the lifting of the six-decade United States embargo against the island, known as "blockade" among the locals.

Hundreds of car drivers, cyclists, and bikers lined up early in the morning by the city's harbor as part of a global initiative taking place in different parts of the world. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said that solidarity events have taken place across the world to condemn the unilateral policy towards the Caribbean nation.

"During the Covid-19 pandemic, the US blockade is not only criminal, illegal, immoral, extraterritorial, and a gross violation of the international law, but we must also reinforce its genocidal character," he said.

Holding national flags and banners in support of the Cuban government, participants were greeted by the locals from balconies and portals. Mr Diosvany Acosta, first secretary of Cuba's Young Communist League, expressed his gratitude to all solidarity movements which have joined this initiative across the world.

"We demand the end of the US blockade," he said.

While passing the US Embassy building near the seawall, riders, drivers, and passengers in the caravan chanted patriotic slogans.

"We are committed to the present and future of the country," said Mr Adrian Conde, a university student from Havana, while riding an electric scooter.

First imposed in 1962, the embargo was intensified by former US president Donald Trump's administration, which banned US flights to Cuban cities except Havana, barred US cruise ships and yachts from visiting the Caribbean nation, and limited remittances Cuban-Americans send to their families on the island.