The Cuban flag is raised during a ceremony to reopen the Cuban embassy to the United States in Washington, D.C., on July 20, 2015. Officials at the Embassy said Wednesday that a shootout between Cuban border guards and people aboard a U.S.-registered boat near the Cuban coast left four people dead. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
Cuban border guards exchanged fire with a Florida-registered speedboat approaching the island nation’s coast on Wednesday, killing four alleged assailants and wounding six others, according to Havana officials, who said the armed men intended to conduct a terrorist attack.
The speedboat, registered in Florida, opened fire as the Cuban border guards were trying to identify those aboard the U.S.-registered boat, the Cuban Embassy in the United States said. A Cuban commander was also injured in the shooting.
The incident took place near Cayo Falcones in the Villa Clara province, about 1 mile northeast of the El Pino Channel.
“As a consequence of the confrontation, as of the time of this report, four aggressors on the foreign vessel were killed and six were injured,” the statement from the Embassy said. “The injured individuals were evacuated and received medical assistance.
“In the face of current challenges, Cuba reaffirms its determination to protect its territorial waters, based on the principle that national defense is a fundamental pillar of the Cuban State in safeguarding its sovereignty and ensuring stability in the region.”
The 10 people aboard the boat were heavily armed with assault rifles, handguns, Molotov cocktails, bulletproof vests, telescopic sights and camouflage uniforms, the Cuban Ministry of the Interior said in an update.
The six wounded have received medical assistance and were detained by Cuban authorities, Havana said.
Preliminary statements obtained from those detained indicate the men “intended to carry out an infiltration for terrorist purposes,” the ministry said in a statement.
Those detained have been identified by the ministry as Amijail Sanchez Gonzalez, Leordan Enrique Cruz Gomez, Conrado Galindo Sariol, Jose Manuel Rodriguez Castello, Cristian Ernesto Acosta Guevara and Roberto Consuegra.
Among the deceased was Michel Ortega Casanova, according to the ministry, which said work was underway to identify the other three.
“All participants are Cubans residing in the United States. Most of them have a known history of criminal and violent activity,” the ministry said.
Gonzalez and Cruz Gomez were wanted in Cuba due to their alleged involvement in what the Interior Ministry said was the promotion, planning, organizing, financing, support or commission of actions in furtherance of acts of terrorism.
Cuban citizen Duniel Hernandez Santos was detained by authorities inside the island nation. The ministry said he has confessed to being sent from the United States “to ensure the reception of the armed infiltration.”
The Embassy said authorities were investigating the incident to “fully clarify the events.”
Vice President JD Vance told reporters Wednesday afternoon that he was recently briefed on the situation by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. He said they were monitoring the situation.
“Hopefully it’s not as bad as we fear it could be, but can’t say more because I just don’t know,” he said.
Rubio, speaking to reporters in St. Kitts and Nevis, said they are working to gain
“We’re going to find out exactly what happened and who was involved and then we’ll make a determination on the basis of what we find out, and we are going to find out, but we’re not going to just take what somebody else tells us,” he said.
Asked if U.S. government personnel were involved, Rubio, a Cuban American, sternly rejected the notion.
“No,” he said.
“Suffice it to say, it’s highly unusual to see shootouts in open sea like that. It’s not something that happens every day. It’s something, frankly, that hasn’t happened with Cuba in a very long time,” he said. “But we’re going to find out.”
The situation comes amid rising tensions between the United States and Cuba, where there is a growing economic crisis.
The socialist nation has long relied upon Venezuela for fuel, but deliveries have halted since the United States abducted the Caribbean nation’s authoritarian leader, Nicolas Maduro, and asserted control of Caracas’ energy industry.
In the wake of the Maduro operation, President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned that Cuba was on the brink of economic collapse and has threatened to impose additional economic pressure on the country to make a deal with the United States. The American president has not publicly defined what kind of deal he is seeking.
On Jan. 29, Trump declared a national emergency in regard to Cuba, creating a new mechanism to impose tariffs on imports from any country that provides Havana with oil.
“Cuba’s status quo is unacceptable,” Rubio said. “Cuba needs to change. It needs to change.”
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., both demanded an immediate investigation into the incident.
“The regime in Cuba must be relegated to the dustbin of history for its countless crimes against humanity,” Gimenez said in a statement.
Florida’s Republican attorney general, James Uthmeier, said he has directed the Office of Statewide Prosecution to work with all levels of law enforcement to begin an investigation.
“The Cuban government cannot be trusted,” Uthmeier said in a social media statement, “and we will do everything in our power to hold these communists accountable.”
