At least 41 members of a Cuban dance troupe have sought asylum in the United States in one of the biggest mass defections of artists from Cuba.
The singers, dancers and musicians of the Havana Night Club show filed for asylum in federal court in Las Vegas, Nevada, Monday.
They had performed at a Las Vegas casino briefly in late August.
The group's director said the Cuban government hampered the troupe's efforts to travel to the United States, and had threatened to make life difficult for the performers upon their return.
Seven other cast members now in Germany were granted U.S. asylum Monday. At least one troupe member has decided to return to Cuba and two others are still deciding what to do.