Open probe after Cuba says those killed on US-registered speedboat planned uprising, leaving key facts open
Four Cuban nationals living in the United States were shot dead by Cuban border guards after the Florida-registered speedboat they were on engaged a coast guard vessel, Cuba's interior ministry said, and several questions remain open as the US says it is investigating the incident. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the episode as "highly unusual" and said investigators will work to clarify what happened.
Florida-registered vessel FL7726SH detected near Cayo Falcones, Villa Clara
The interior ministry said an earlier statement posted on X identified the vessel as Florida-registered, with registration number FL7726SH, and said it was detected near Cayo Falcones in the country's central Villa Clara province on Wednesday morning. The ministry posted the statement online and said the boat had entered Cuban territorial waters.
Open investigation: Marco Rubio says US probing 'highly unusual' incident from Saint Kitts and Nevis
Marco Rubio said the US was investigating what he called the "highly unusual" episode. He spoke from Saint Kitts and Nevis, where he had travelled to meet Caribbean leaders amid the Trump administration's push to ramp up pressure on Cuba's government and to discuss other regional issues. Rubio confirmed the boat was not carrying US government personnel and said investigators would work to "clarify" the event.
Border guard approach, exchange of fire and casualties including wounded commander
The ministry said a Cuban boat carrying five members of the ministry's border guard approached the speedboat for identification. "The crew of the violating speedboat opened fire" and wounded the Cuban commander, the statement said. "As a consequence of the confrontation, as of the time of this report, four aggressors on the foreign vessel were killed and six injured. " Those injured were evacuated and given medical assistance, the ministry added.
Passengers, weapons and an eleventh arrest tied to alleged plot
The interior ministry said the speedboat carried 10 individuals who were all Cuban citizens — the four killed and six who were wounded — and that most of them "have prior records involving criminal and violent activity. " The ministry said the group were armed and intended to "carry out an infiltration for terrorist purposes. " Handguns, assault rifles, improvised explosive devices and other tactical gear were recovered on the speedboat. The ministry also identified the six surviving passengers, who have since been detained, and one passenger who was killed; an eleventh person was said to have been arrested and to have confessed to being part of the alleged plot.
Wider context: tensions, fuel crisis and US Coast Guard presence near the attack
The ministry framed the episode against a backdrop of increased tensions between the US and Cuba. It said Cuba is facing a deepening fuel crisis that has been worsened by the US blocking oil shipments from Venezuela. Before the government released some passenger identities, Rubio said US investigators would move "quickly" to gather the key facts and that the US Coast Guard had travelled to the "vicinity" of the attack. "We're going to find out exactly what happened, who was involved, and we'll make a determination on the basis of what we find out, " he told reporters.
