Maia DaviesAnd
Chris Graham
At least one U.S. citizen was shot and killed and another injured by Cuban authorities intercepting a speedboat off its coast on Wednesday, a U.S. official said.
Border guards shot and killed four people and injured six others aboard the Florida-registered speedboat. Cuba accused the 10 people on the boat of planning “an infiltration for terrorist purposes” and said they opened fire first.
A third person held a US K-1 visa – for fiancees of US citizens – the US official said. The boat owner alleged the boat was stolen by an employee.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was investigating the “highly unusual” incident.
Cuban authorities had said all ten were Cuban nationals residing in the United States.
They also identified an eleventh person who they said had been arrested and confessed to being part of the alleged plot.
The Interior Ministry earlier said the speedboat had entered its territorial waters and was “one nautical mile off Cayo Falcones” on the country’s northern coast when it was intercepted.
The commander of the Cuban boat was injured in the ensuing shootout.
Cuban authorities added that most of the passengers on the U.S.-registered boat had “histories involving criminal and violent activity.”
Handguns, assault rifles and improvised explosive devices were recovered from the speedboat, along with other tactical equipment, according to the release.
This deadly shooting comes at a time of increased tension between the two countries.
Rubio said the speedboat incident was not a U.S. operation and that no member of the U.S. government was involved.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel pledged Thursday to defend the Caribbean country against any aggression.
“Cuba will defend itself with determination and firmness against any terrorist and mercenary aggression aimed at undermining its sovereignty and national stability,” Díaz-Canel said on X.
“Cuba does not attack or threaten,” Díaz-Canel added.
Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío said the United States had shown a “willingness” to cooperate to “clarify these regrettable events.”
BBC Verify verified the registration details of the speedboat provided by the Cuban Embassy in the United States (FL7726SH, registered in Florida), but they did not provide any ownership details or tracking history on any of the platforms the BBC relies on.
Reuters
Cuba’s Interior Ministry has denounced other incursions into its territorial waters in the past by private U.S. boats that it said were engaged in smuggling Cubans from the Caribbean island to the United States.
The incident also comes almost 30 years to the day since Cuban defense forces shot down two small civilian planes belonging to Brothers to the Rescue, a U.S.-based group that was searching for rafts carrying migrants from Cuba to the United States.
Four people on board were killed in the 1996 incident, sparking outrage in the United States.
Last month, continued the capture of Venezuela Maduro During a US military operation, US President Donald Trump asked Cuba to “make a deal” or face unspecified consequences.
The move further exacerbated the already crippling oil and fuel shortages that Cuba has suffered for years.
On Wednesday, however, the U.S. Treasury announced it would facilitate some small private sector transactions, including oil sales, to “support the Cuban people, for commercial and humanitarian purposes.”
