The US government has issued a strong condemnation of the assault on prizewinning Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez.

Ms Sanchez reports that she was bundled into a car by three men last Friday and beaten up in an ordeal lasting some 25 minutes. She is convinced that the men were secret service agents intent on silencing her.

The Cuban authorities have refused to comment on the incident, which has already been condemned by Human Rights Watch. Ms Sanchez has vowed to continue to write her weblog Generation Y, which contains critical reports on Cuba's socialist regime.