Cuban officials said four people on a Florida-registered speedboat were killed when the boat violated their territorial waters Wednesday, kicking off an armed confrontation with Cuban border guard troops. Cuba’s Interior Ministry said Wednesday that a commander of the Cuban border guard was injured, in addition to six people on the U.S. boat. It claimed that the group on the speedboat had intended to carry out an “armed infiltration.” All members of the group were “Cuban residents of the United States,” according to the ministry. The speedboat “was carrying 10 armed individuals who, according to preliminary statements from those detained, intended to carry out an infiltration for terrorist purposes,” the ministry said in a statement Wednesday night. “Assault rifles, handguns, improvised explosive devices (Molotov cocktails), bulletproof vests, telescopic sights, and camouflage uniforms were seized,” the statement said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier Wednesday the U.S. would carry out an independent investigation about the incident before it responded. “We’re going to find out exactly what happened here, and then we’ll respond accordingly,” said Rubio from St. Kitts and Nevis, where he was attending a conference with Caribbean leaders. The Cuban ministry said the people on the U.S.-registered vessel initiated the firefight, which took place 1 nautical mile northeast of El Pino channel off Cuba’s north coast. “When a surface unit of the Border Guard Troops of the Ministry of the Interior, carrying five service members, approached the vessel for identification, the crew of the violating speedboat opened fire on the Cuban personnel, resulting in the injury of the commander of the Cuban vessel,” the ministry said. The ministry listed the names of one of the people killed and the six people who have been detained. It said most have a criminal history. A seventh person, a Cuban national who was allegedly sent from the U.S. to facilitate the reception of the group, was arrested in Cuba, the ministry said. The injured people were evacuated and received medical assistance, according to the statement. Rubio said most of the information the U.S. has about what happened has come from Cuban authorities. “The majority of the information we still possess is what Cuban authorities are providing both the public and the U.S. government,” he said. The Cuban border guard alerted the U.S. to the incident this morning and Rubio was notified at that time, he said. Asked if any U.S. personnel were involved in the incident, Rubio replied, “No.” Tensions between the U.S. and Cuba have heightened over the Trump administration’s restriction of oil shipments to Cuba, especially from Venezuela, though the U.S. announced Wednesday it would allow some sales to Cuba’s private sector. Several Florida officials have called for an investigation into the incident. State Attorney General James Uthmeier said on X that he has “directed the Office of Statewide Prosecution to work with our federal, state, and law enforcement partners to begin an investigation.” He added that the “Cuban government cannot be trusted.” Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., called the confrontation a “massacre” and said the U.S. must determine what happened and whether any citizens or U.S. residents were victims. Similarly, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., called for an investigation and said the Cuban government’s version of events could not be trusted “without scrutiny.” “My office has contacted the State Department for more information, but it’s notable that this occurred in spite of ongoing Trump Administration negotiations with the Cuban regime,” she said on X.
