HAVANA - Cuba on Monday rejected US politicians' claim over the death of a Cuban dissident, saying Washington said so because it is "seeking excuses" to invade the island country.

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The official daily Granma said in an editorial that the claim over the death of Juan Wilfredo Soto Garciais is the most recent example of the "hundreds of smear campaigns" orchestrated by the US government against Cuba.

Soto, 46, died on May 8 at a hospital in Santa Clara, central Cuba. Fellow dissidents and several US politicians claimed that he was beaten by police two days earlier, which, they said, led to his death.

The Cuban government denied any police aggression and said Soto died of acute pancreatitis and complications from other diseases he was suffering at the time. Testimony of Soto's relatives published by Cuban press backed the official account of the death.