Cuba: Four Shot Dead on US-Registered Speedboat Near Cayo Falcones, Government Says
cuba's interior ministry says four people who entered Cuban waters on a Florida-registered speedboat were shot dead by border guards after an exchange of fire; six more were wounded and an investigation has been launched. The episode matters because Cuban authorities say weapons and an alleged infiltration plot were involved, US officials are independently gathering facts, and the incident comes amid heightened bilateral tensions tied to an oil embargo and recent migration crises.
Cuba's interior ministry account
The interior ministry said the Florida-registered vessel, with registration number FL7726SH, was detected near Cayo Falcones in central Villa Clara province on Wednesday morning. A Cuban boat carrying five members of the ministry's border guard approached the speedboat for identification. The ministry said the crew of the foreign vessel opened fire and wounded the Cuban commander; one border guard was injured in the exchange of gunfire.
As a consequence, four people on the speedboat were killed and six were injured. The ministry said those injured were evacuated and given medical assistance. Cuban they do not know the identities of those on board the vessel or what the boat was doing in the area, and that an investigation has been launched to clarify the event.
Cuba says boat carried weapons and an alleged infiltration plan
The interior ministry said that people arrested after the firefight said they intended to carry out an infiltration for the purposes of terrorism. The ministry reported that assault rifles, handguns, molotov cocktails and other military-style gear were found on the vessel. The ministry described the ten people aboard as attackers and said the ten were all Cubans living in the US.
What US officials have said and immediate US responses
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the nationalities of those on board are unclear and that the US is gathering facts and will make determinations on the basis of those facts. He said the boat was not carrying US government personnel. Rubio said he spoke from Saint Kitts and Nevis, where he had travelled to meet with Caribbean leaders amid the Trump administration's push to ramp up pressure on Cuba's government and to discuss other regional issues.
Rubio said it is highly unusual to see shootouts on the open sea and vowed US investigators would move quickly to gather key facts; he said the US Coast Guard has travelled to the vicinity of the attack. He said the US does not yet know who has possession of the vessel and that access to the people on board would be sought if they are American citizens or US residents. He added that Washington would not rely solely on information provided by the Cuban government and would seek independent verification.
Domestic US investigations and reactions
Florida's attorney general, James Uthmeier, said he had ordered an investigation into the incident. Uthmeier said, "The Cuban government cannot be trusted, and we will do everything in our power to hold these communists accountable. "
Wider context: embargo, migration flashpoints and historical echoes
The clash comes amid an oil embargo and heightened tensions between the two countries, which Cuban officials say has contributed to an energy and humanitarian crisis on the island. The confrontation occurred in a coastal area where gentle farmland meets the Florida Straits and bleached beaches under swaying palms; the scattered offshore keys are highly militarised and are a common launching area for Cubans seeking to escape to the US and for people smugglers using fast boats.
There were several maritime incidents in 2022 during a migration crisis: in June off Bahía Honda to Havana's west, Cuban they returned fire against a trafficking boat, killing one; in October, survivors said their boat was rammed by the coast guard nearby, and seven migrants died, including a two-year-old girl, Elizabeth Meizoso.
The interior ministry's account also revived memories of a deadly incident almost exactly 30 years earlier, when the Cuban air force shot down two small planes belonging to Brothers to the Rescue. Four people—Carlos Alejandre, 45; Armando Costa, 29; Mario De la Peña, 24; and Pablo Morales, 29—died in that event, which ended a thaw between the two countries. The US responded with increased sanctions through the Helms Burton Act, which allows US companies that had property confiscated after 1959 to sue foreign companies using those properties; that law remains a contentious bilateral issue and two such cases are now being heard by the US supreme court. There are also moves in the US to bring charges against the former Cuban president Raúl Castro for the Brothers to the Rescue killings; the provided context is unclear about a subsequent mention of hopes for a pretext related to the abduction of "Nico".
What happens next
Investigations are underway on multiple fronts. Cuban authorities have opened a probe; US investigators, including the US Coast Guard, have moved to the vicinity; Florida's attorney general has ordered an inquiry; and the US embassy in Havana will seek to independently verify the facts. Details remain limited and some claims are contested; recent updates indicate key questions—nationalities, ownership and custody of the vessel, and the full sequence of events—are still being established and may evolve as inquiries proceed.
