By Andrea Rodriguez
The Associated Press

HAVANA · Cuban art students and cartoonists painted an American eagle cartoon Wednesday on the asphalt of Havana's coastal highway so cars can drive over it as they pass the U.S. diplomatic mission, the latest salvo in a spat over pro-dissident Christmas decorations hung by the Americans.

Police closed off two blocks of the highway as the students drew the colorful cartoon of an aggressive-looking eagle with an enormous "B" on its chest, referring to the U.S. "bloqueo," or trade sanctions. The government has used the figure in a televised campaign to criticize four decades of sanctions.

"This character represents the blockade and will be squashed by all the cars and people who pass by here," said Ernesto Padron, a well-known cartoonist who worked on the painting.

Dozens of other artists worked on billboards outside the mission. They said they planned to paint a caricature of James Cason, chief of the U.S. Interests Section, as well as images protesting the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

U.S. officials declined to comment Wednesday on the painting.

The row began last week when Cason ignored orders by the Cuban government to remove Christmas decorations including a sign reading "75," a reference to 75 Cuban dissidents arrested in a crackdown last year. The Cuban government then erected a billboard outside the U.S. mission emblazoned with photographs of U.S. soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners and the word "fascists" overlaid with a "Made in the U.S.A" stamp.

Earlier in the week, thousands of university students rallied outside the Interests Section to protest the display. "We reject the U.S. operations against Cuba and against Iraq," Lisandra Ramírez, 18, said as she painted.

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