HAVANA, February 26. /TASS/. A US-registered speedboat entered Cuba’s territorial waters and opened fire, casualties were reported, the Cuban Interior Ministry said.
TASS has compiled the key facts about the incident.
Circumstances
- Cuba’s Interior Ministry reported that on February 25, a speedboat with Florida’s registration number FL7726SH, entered the waters of Cuba.
- People on board the vessel opened fire on an approaching Cuban border patrol boat, which returned fire.
- According to the ministry, four people aboard the Florida-based speedboat were killed, and another six were injured.
- The commander of the Cuban border patrol was injured.
- The wounded were evacuated and received medical assistance, the ministry reported.
Investigation
- The Cuban Interior Ministry identified six detainees and one person killed on the US-registered vessel.
- All the armed men were Cuban nationals, residing in the United States. Most of them have a history of criminal and violent activity, the ministry said.
- Work is currently underway to identify the three remaining bodies.
- Assault rifles, pistols, improvised explosive devices (Molotov cocktails), body armor, scopes and camouflage uniforms were seized from the detainees.
- An accomplice of those who opened fire on a Cuban patrol boat from a US-registered speedboat has been detained in the country and has admitted his role, the ministry reported.
- According to its information, it was Duniel Hernandez Santos, a Cuban citizen sent from the United States to facilitate the armed incursion.
- The detainees confessed to their plans to enter Cuba with terrorist motives.
About the vessel
- The US speedboat that entered Cuba’s territorial waters was not a US Navy or Coast Guard vessel, The New York Times reported, citing an unnamed US official.
- The vessel is a seven-meter speedboat built in 1981, the newspaper said.
- Boats of similar size are capable of carrying between eight and ten people.
- According to the report, the current owner purchased the boat in December 2022, though the owner’s name has not been disclosed.
- The speedboat is now registered for commercial use, but it was previously used for recreational purposes, the publication noted.
US reaction
- US Representative Carlos Gimenez, a Republican from Florida, has called for an immediate investigation into the boat incident off Cuba’s coast.
- The lawmaker sent corresponding requests to the US State Department and the Pentagon.
- Maria Elvira Salazar, US Congress Representative from Florida, has called on the US authorities to share more details about the incident.
- The US Coast Guard has refrained from commenting on the incident, referring all inquiries to the Department of State.
- The US administration does not view the incident in Cuban waters as particularly serious or alarming, "as we fear it could be," US Vice President JD Vance said.
- According to him, Washington is still investigating the circumstances surrounding the event.
- The US administration was not involved in the incident, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
- He noted that the United States will decide on further steps regarding the incident once more information is obtained.
- According to Rubio, the US will conduct an independent review of the event and present its results to President Donald Trump.
Global reaction
- The United Nations is trying to get more detail about the incident, Stephane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General of the United Nations, said.
- It is an "aggressive US provocation, aimed at escalating the situation and triggering conflict," Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told TASS.