Cuba says it killed four on US-registered speedboat after armed boarding and shootout
Cuba says its forces killed four Cuban nationals and wounded six others after a Florida-registered speedboat entered Cuban waters and opened fire on a Cuban patrol; the incident occurred amid an existing US oil embargo and heightened tensions between the two countries.
Cuba: what happened at sea
The speedboat, registered in Florida, entered waters near Cuba's north coast and came within one nautical mile of a channel on Falcones Cay when it was approached by five members of a Cuban patrol unit. The crew of the speedboat opened fire, wounding the commander of the Cuban vessel. Cuban forces returned fire; they report four passengers were killed, six were wounded and detained, and the wounded were evacuated and given medical attention.
Who were the passengers and detainees
The interior ministry said the group comprised anti-government Cubans who had been living in the United States. The ministry said the 10 passengers intended to carry out an infiltration for terrorist purposes, and that most had prior records involving criminal and violent activity. The six people detained from the boat were identified by name:
- Amijail Sánchez González (identified as previously wanted in Cuba on suspicion of planning terrorist acts)
- Leordan Enrique Cruz Gómez (identified as previously wanted in Cuba on suspicion of planning terrorist acts)
- Conrado Galindo Sariol
- José Manuel Rodríguez Castello
- Cristián Ernesto Acosta Guevara
- Roberto Azcorra Consuegra
Cuba also said it detained another Cuban man in Cuban territory, Duniel Hernández Santos, who had come from the United States to facilitate landing and reception of the armed group and has confessed to his role. One of the dead was identified as Michel Ortega Casanova; the other three dead had yet to be identified in the provided context.
Weapons, gear and injuries
Authorities said the passengers were armed and wore camouflage. Items seized included assault rifles, handguns, homemade explosives, ballistic vests, telescopic sights and Molotov cocktails. The Cuban patrol commander was wounded in the exchange and received medical attention. The six injured passengers were also evacuated and treated.
US and Florida responses
United States secretary of state Marco Rubio said this was not a US operation and that no US government personnel were involved. He said the Cuban authorities made the US aware of the incident and that the US embassy in Havana would attempt to independently verify what happened. While on a trip to St Kitts and Nevis he said, in the provided context, that the US would seek its own information and that it was highly unusual to see shootouts in open sea.
Florida's attorney general, James Uthmeier, ordered an investigation and said he was directing prosecutors to open a separate inquiry with state and federal law enforcement partners. He also said, in the provided context, "The Cuban government cannot be trusted, and we will do everything in our power to hold these communists accountable. "
Historical and regional context
The clash was described as rare and took place amid a US oil embargo and heightened tensions between the two countries. The area off the Cuban north coast—where gentle farmland gives way to the Florida Straits and bleached beaches—includes scattered keys that are highly militarised and commonly used both by Cubans seeking to leave the island and by people smugglers using fast boats.
The context also notes several 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, with seven migrants killed, including a two-year-old girl, Elizabeth Meizoso.
Nearly 30 years earlier, the Cuban air force shot down two small planes belonging to Brothers to the Rescue, killing four people—Carlos Alejandre, 45; Armando Costa, 29; Mario De la Peña, 24; and Pablo Morales, 29—ending a thaw between the US and Cuba. The US soon increased its sanctions on the island in the aftermath, as noted in the provided context.
Recent updates indicate further verification and investigations are under way, and details may continue to evolve.
