Cuba shoots four people dead on US-based speedboat

Havana: Cuban forces killed four people and wounded six others aboard a Florida-based speedboat that entered Cuban waters on Wednesday and opened fire on a patrol, the Cuban government said at a time of heightened tensions with the United States.

The wounded were evacuated and are receiving medical attention. The Cuban patrol commander was also wounded, Cuba’s Interior Ministry said in a statement, adding that the matter was under investigation to clarify exactly what happened.

The highly unusual incident took place amid tension between Cuba and the US, which has blocked almost all oil shipments to the island, increasing pressure on the Communist-run government.

American forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas on January 3, removing a key Cuban ally from power.

The speedboat came within one nautical mile (1.8 kilometres) of a channel on Falcones Cay, on the island nation’s north coast and about 200 kilometres east of Havana, when it was approached by five members of a Cuban border patrol unit, Cuba said.

The speedboat then opened fire, wounding the commander of the Cuban vessel, the statement said.

None of the dead or wounded aboard the encroaching vessel has been identified, but Cuba said it was registered in Florida with the number FL7726SH.

“Faced with the current challenges, Cuba reaffirms its commitment to protecting its territorial waters, based on the principle that national defence is a fundamental pillar for the Cuban state in safeguarding its sovereignty and stability in the region,” the Cuban statement said.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is in the region visiting St Kitts and Nevis, told reporters that he was aware of the incident and that the US is now working to determine if the victims were American citizens or permanent residents.

“We have various different elements of the US government that are trying to identify elements of the story that may not be provided to us now,” Rubio said while at the airport in Basseterre, St Kitts.

“Suffice it to say, it is highly unusual to see shootouts in open sea like that. It’s not something that happens every day,” he said.

US Vice President JD Vance said he had been briefed on the incident by Rubio and that the White House was monitoring the situation, but declined to provide further details.

“Hopefully it’s not as bad as we fear it could be,” Vance said.

James Uthmeier, Florida’s attorney-general, said he had ordered prosecutors to work with federal, state and law enforcement partners to start an investigation.

“The Cuban government cannot be trusted, and we will do everything in our power to hold these communists accountable,” he wrote on X.

The New York Times, citing an unnamed US official, reported that the incident involved a US civilian boat that was part of a flotilla to get relatives out of Cuba, adding that the vessel was not a US Navy or Coast Guard boat. But later intelligence confirmed that a single boat had been attacked.

Meanwhile, Florida congressman Carlos Gimenez decried the killings and accused the Cuban government of murder.

“This regime must be relegated to the dust bin of history!” he wrote on X.

It’s not unusual for skirmishes to erupt between Cuba’s Coast Guard and US-flagged speedboats in Cuban waters, but there have been no recent reports of passengers opening fire or being killed.

In recent years, some of those US-flagged boats were laden with unidentified items headed toward the island, or they were going to pick up Cubans and smuggle them into the US.

Officials with the US Coast Guard did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security directed questions to the State Department, which did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

The incident comes as tensions simmer between the US and Cuba following mounting pressure by the Trump administration. The two countries used to collaborate on drug smuggling and other crimes, but have since stopped doing so.