Four armed Cuban nationals aboard a Florida-registered speedboat died in a gunfight with Cuban border troops near the island nation’s coast on Wednesday, the local authorities said.
The gunfight also wounded six others on the speedboat after it entered Cuba’s territorial waters, Cuba’s Interior Ministry said.
The 10 men on the speedboat were armed Cuban nationals living in the United States, according to a Cuban state media report, citing a statement from the Interior Ministry. The report said that “preliminary declarations” by men detained from the boat indicated they were intent on “an infiltration with terrorist ends.” The statement did not specify how the government arrived at that conclusion.
Here’s what to know:
What happened?
The vessel had approached within one nautical mile northeast of El Pino channel, north of Corralillo, a town in the central province of Villa Clara, according to a statement from Cuba’s Interior Ministry.
Five Cuban border guards on a government boat approached the speedboat seeking identification, when the people aboard opened fire on Cuban personnel, wounding a Cuban commander, according to the ministry’s statement and Cuban state media.
“As a result of the confrontation, at the time of this report, four foreign attackers were killed and six were wounded,” the government said. The wounded were evacuated and received medical attention, it said.
The Cuban state media report, citing a second government statement, said the men were carrying weapons, Molotov cocktails, bulletproof jackets and camouflage gear.
The authorities arrested one man who had admitted to flying into the island nation to meet the boat, the second government statement said. The majority of the men on the boat have a criminal or violent history, it added.
The Florida-registered boat appears to be a 24-foot Pro-Line motorboat built in 1981, according to Florida state records. That is what corresponds to the registration number provided by the Cuban authorities.
The government began releasing the names of some of the dead and injured late Wednesday.
What have U.S. lawmakers said?
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was in St. Kitts and Nevis on Wednesday on a diplomatic trip to meet with officials from Caribbean nations, told reporters earlier that the United States was investigating the shooting, but was so far relying on the Cuban government for information.
“As we gather more information, we’ll be prepared to respond accordingly,” he added.
Mr. Rubio said the incident was not part of a U.S. government operation and did not involve U.S. government personnel.
In a statement, Representative Carlos A. Gimenez, Republican of Florida, called for an immediate investigation into what he called a “massacre.”
The attorney general of Florida, James Uthmeier, said he had ordered the state’s Office of Statewide Prosecution to open an investigation into the shooting.
“The Cuban government cannot be trusted, and we will do everything in our power to hold these Communists accountable,” he said.
What is the background?
The Trump administration has stopped oil shipments to Cuba and has threatened tariffs on the goods of any other country that tries to deliver oil to Cuba. The Cuban government has denounced the U.S. measures.
Faced with widespread oil shortages and soaring food prices, the Cuban economy is in a free fall, and experts say it could become a watershed moment for the Communist government.
Anushka Patil and Michael Crowley contributed reporting.
Patricia Mazzei is the lead reporter for The Times in Miami, covering Florida and Puerto Rico.
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