Cuba, U.S. in row over protest arrests

HAVANA, April 24 (UPI) -- Cuban and U.S. officials have exchanged heated words over Havana's recent crack down on a group of protesters, U.S. officials say.

Cuban authorities this week arrested a group of women calling for the release of their dissident husbands from prison.

The women, known at the Ladies in White, were arrested while protesting near the office of Cuban President Raul Castro.

Bush administration officials said the women had a right to protest, the BBC reported Wednesday.

The women are the wives of men arrested during a 2003 crackdown by the communist government on those accused of collaborating with the United States to subvert Havana's authority.