President Miguel Diaz-Canel said his supporters were "ready to defend the revolution" in the face of an opposition demonstration that calls for the release of political prisoners.

"We are a revolution open to dialogue, to debate," he added in a television appearance, "but we are a society closed to pressure, closed to blackmail, and closed to foreign interference."

Archipelago, a dissident political reflection group that called for a march on November 15 in Havana and seven provinces across the island, has maintained its call, even though the authorities banned the protest last week.

The Cuban authorities, for their part, accused Junior Garcia, the founder of Archipelago and the organizer of the demonstration, of aiming to create a "climate of instability" and pushing for a "soft coup" after receiving training abroad, particularly with US organizations.

Cuba's Communist Party has lately revealed new evidence regarding ties between organizers of an unconstitutional demonstration planned for November 15th by Cuban opposition groups and Washington-backed strategy to change the country's regime.