Demonstrators clashed briefly at a rally Friday in support of Luis Posada Carriles, the Cuban exile militant facing federal prosecution in Texas and possible deportation if the United States can find a country willing to take him.

About 100 people gathered just before noon at the Bay of Pigs memorial at Southwest Eighth Street and 13th Avenue. They held signs and encouraged motorists to honk their horns in support of Posada, 78, who is being detained in El Paso, Texas.

Around 12:30 p.m., a handful of college-aged counter-demonstrators appeared across the street, denouncing Posada as a terrorist.

Miguel Saavedra, president of Vigilia Mambisa, an anti-Castro group and one of the organizers of the rally, yelled, ''Communists!'' The two sides briefly clashed, and a Posada critic was hit in the head.

Otherwise, the pro-Posada gathering was mostly peaceful.

Saavedra, who spent most of his time yelling into a megaphone, called the U.S. prosecution of Posada on charges of lying about how he sneaked into the country ``ridiculous.''

''He has brought a lot of justice to many people,'' he said.

Non-Cuban demonstrators turned out as well. Fernando Balanda, a Chilean who has lived in the United States for 30 years, said he felt compelled to show support for his ``Cuban brothers.''

Posada, a former CIA operative with ties to the failed 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion, is suspected of plotting the bombing of a Cuban jetliner three decades ago. He was indicted last week in El Paso on charges of lying under oath when applying for naturalization in September 2005 and last April.