Cuba clash: Four Cuban nationals shot dead on US-registered speedboat in cuba waters
Four Cuban nationals were killed and six others wounded after passengers on a Florida-registered speedboat opened fire on a Cuban patrol, Cuba's interior ministry said, in an incident that has heightened tensions and prompted US officials to say they will independently verify what happened. The ministry identified the vessel and several people it says were involved, while US figures including Marco Rubio and a Florida attorney general have publicly called for further investigation.
Cuba names the vessel and where it was spotted
The interior ministry said the Florida-registered speedboat carried the registration number FL7726SH and was detected near Cayo Falcones in Villa Clara province on Wednesday morning. Cuban authorities said the speedboat had entered its territorial waters when a Cuban boat carrying five members of the ministry's border guard approached for identification.
Interior ministry account: gunfire, weapons and an alleged infiltration plot
The ministry said the passengers — four who were killed and six others who were wounded, all Cuban citizens — opened fire on the coast guard vessel that approached them. It said the 10 individuals were armed, intended to "carry out an infiltration for terrorist purposes, " and that most of them "have prior records involving criminal and violent activity. " Handguns, assault rifles, improvised explosive devices and other tactical gear were recovered from the speedboat, the statement added.
Identities, arrests and one named fatality
Cuba said it had identified the six surviving passengers, who have since been detained, and one passenger who was killed. The six detainees named by Cuban authorities were Amijail Sanchez Gonzalez and Leordan Enrique Cruz Gomez, whom Cuba said were previously wanted on suspicion of planning terrorist acts, and Conrado Galindo Sariol, Jose Manuel Rodriguez Castello, Cristian Ernesto Acosta Guevara and Roberto Azcorra Consuegra. The government also said an eleventh person had been arrested and had confessed to being part of the alleged plot. One of the dead was identified as Michel Ortega Casanova; the other three dead had yet to be identified, Cuba said. In addition, Cuba said it detained Duniel Hernandez Santos on Cuban territory, whom it claimed had come from the US to the island to receive the infiltrators.
Sequence of the confrontation and medical response
The ministry said that when the five-member Cuban border guard boat approached the speedboat for identification, "the crew of the violating speedboat opened fire" and wounded the Cuban commander. "As a consequence of the confrontation, as of the time of this report, four aggressors on the foreign vessel were killed and six injured, " the interior ministry said. The wounded were evacuated and given medical assistance and were receiving medical attention, the statement added.
US reactions: Marco Rubio's remarks and calls for independent verification
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US was investigating the "highly unusual" incident and that the boat was not carrying US government personnel. Speaking 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, Rubio said, "I'm not going to speculate" and that "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 added, "We’re not going to base our conclusions on what they’ve [Cuba] told us, and I’m very, very confident that we will know the full story of what happened here, " and "As we gather more information, then we’ll be prepared to respond accordingly. " The US embassy in Havana would attempt to independently verify what happened, the statements said. Florida’s attorney general, James Uthmeier, said he had ordered an investigation and that "The Cuban government cannot be trusted, and we will do everything in our power to hold these communists accountable. "
Wider setting: heightened tensions, fuel crisis and past clashes
Officials and commentary positioned the clash amid increased tensions between the US and Cuba and against the backdrop of a deepening fuel crisis in Cuba that the interior ministry linked to the US blocking oil shipments from Venezuela. The encounter was described as a rare clash off the island’s coast that came at a time of heightened tensions. Reports noted that the area off Cuba's coast — where farmland gives way to the Florida Straits and scattered keys are common launch points for rafts and for smugglers — has seen deadly incidents before: in June 2022 Cuban they returned fire against a trafficking boat, killing one; in October 2022 survivors said their boat was rammed by the coast guard and seven migrants died, including a two-year-old girl, Elizabeth Meizoso. The coverage also recalled that almost exactly 30 years earlier the Cuban air force shot down two small planes belonging to Brothers to the Rescue, killing Carlos Alejandre, 45, Armando Costa, 29, Mario De la Peña, 24, and Pablo Morales, 29 — an episode that ended a thaw between the US and Cuba and led to increased US sanctions.
