Cuban Foreign Ministry spokesman Alejandro Gonzalez, dismissed the application as "a ridiculous infamy" that did not warrant a formal reaction.

"You should remember that in South Florida and other parts of the world, there are groups of people interested in this sort of campaign to get the money that it produces," he said.

Leaders of the Cuban American National Foundation (CANF), which filed the request, said they were asking Spain's High Court to investigate 300 cases of people they said were victimised by Castro's communist government.

They said they expected to broaden the case to cover up to 18,000 victims.

Francisco Jose Hernandez, of the Cuban Foundation for Human Rights - part of the CANF - said most of the names on the list are Cuban, but he also cited 12 US citizens and five Spaniards.

Interpol request

The group wants the court to ask Interpol to arrest Castro if he travels outside Cuba in a move that mirrors legal action against Chile's former military leader, General Augusto Pinochet.

"We ask the world not to turn its back on Cuba, to not forget the crimes that have been committed by Castro, and specifically to bring attention to the reality in Cuba," Jorge Mas, President of Cuban-American Foundation told a rally in Washington DC.

The Havana government refers to the CANF as a "terrorist mafia" which is it accuses of master-minding and financing a long running campaign of violence against Cuba, including a 1997 series of small bombs at tourist facilities.

The CANF application comes just days after a court ruled that a Spanish judge could investigate alleged atrocities committed by General Pinochet during his 18 year rule in Chile.