HAVANA (AP) — Cuba’s authorities stated late Wednesday that the ten passengers on a ship that opened hearth on its troopers had been armed Cubans dwelling within the U.S. who had been attempting to infiltrate the island and unleash terrorism.
The announcement got here hours after Cuba stated its troopers killed 4 folks and wounded six others aboard a Florida-registered pace boat that had entered Cuban waters and opened hearth on the troopers first, injuring one Cuban officer.
Cuba’s authorities stated nearly all of the ten folks on the boat “have a recognized historical past of felony and violent exercise.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had instructed reporters earlier that he was made conscious of the incident and that the U.S. is now gathering its personal data to find out if the victims had been Americans or everlasting residents.
“We have now varied totally different parts of the U.S. authorities which are attempting to determine parts of the story that is probably not offered to us now,” Rubio stated whereas on the airport in Basseterre, St. Kitts, the place he was attending a regional summit with Caribbean leaders.
The Cuban authorities recognized two of the boat passengers as Amijail Sánchez González and Leordan Enrique Cruz Gómez, who’re needed by Cuban authorities “primarily based on their involvement within the promotion, planning, group, financing, assist or fee of actions carried out within the nationwide territory or in different nations, in reference to acts of terrorism.”
The federal government stated it additionally had arrested Duniel Hernández Santos, including that he was “despatched from america to ensure the reception of the armed infiltration, who right now has confessed to his actions.”
The Related Press was not instantly in a position to independently confirm that data.
Cuba’s authorities stated it obtained the small print in regards to the passengers aboard the boat from the suspects detained following the shootout.
It recognized seven of the ten passengers, together with Conrado Galindo Sariol, José Manuel Rodríguez Castelló, Cristian Ernesto Acosta Guevara and Roberto Azcorra Consuegra. Cuba’s authorities stated that one of many 4 killed was Michel Ortega Casanova. Three others haven’t but been recognized.
“The investigation course of continues till the info are absolutely clarified,” the ministry stated in a press release.
A ‘extremely uncommon’ shootout
U.S. President Donald Trump’s prime diplomat refused to invest on what occurred, saying that it may very well be a “big selection of issues,” and that the U.S. is not going to solely depend on what the Cuban authorities have offered to date.
“Suffice it to say, it’s extremely uncommon to see shootouts in open sea like that. It’s not one thing that occurs daily. It’s one thing, frankly, that hasn’t occurred with Cuba in a really very long time,” Rubio stated.
He stated each the U.S. Division of Homeland Safety and the U.S. Coast Guard are investigating the incident and confused that he needs to confirm the info.
“Nearly all of the info being publicly reported are these by the knowledge offered by the Cubans. We’ll confirm that independently as we collect extra data, and we’ll be ready to reply accordingly,” Rubio stated. “We’re going to have our personal data on this. We’re going to determine precisely what occurred.”
He stated it was not a U.S. authorities operation and that he wasn’t “going to invest about whose boat it was, what they had been doing, why they had been there, what truly occurred.”
Rubio added: “We’re going to know, and after we know, then we’ll let you know, and we’ll do what must be carried out about it, relying on what it’s.”
One of many males recognized by the Cuban authorities, Conrado Galindo Sariol, was interviewed in June 2025 by Martí Noticias, a U.S.-based information web site that has lengthy known as for a change of presidency in Cuba.
Galindo, whom the host known as “a legend,” was quoted as saying that he needs to assist the struggles that Cubans face, particularly within the japanese a part of the island “to realize the liberty that’s wanted.”
He stated that the protests in Cuba at the moment had been “not a spark that’s going to be extinguished.”
“The regime’s leaders are crisscrossing Cuba, attempting to mitigate what’s coming very quickly as a result of … they know they’re out of energy, that they’ll’t do something about it, they usually’re on the lookout for methods to forestall the protests from rising in different components of the nation,” Galindo was quoted as saying.
Worry over elevated tensions
Rubio stated he discovered in regards to the taking pictures earlier than the Cuban authorities posted on social media, noting that the U.S. has “fixed contact” with the nation “on the Coast Guard stage.”
Earlier, Cuba’s Inside Ministry issued a press release that offered few particulars in regards to the taking pictures, however famous that the boat was roughly 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) northeast of Cayo Falcones, off Cuba’s north coast.
The federal government offered the boat’s registration quantity, however The Related Press was unable to readily confirm particulars of the boat as a result of boat registrations should not public within the state of Florida.
It wasn’t instantly recognized what the boat and its occupants had been doing in Cuban waters. Within the assertion, the ministry stated Cuba’s authorities was “safeguarding its sovereignty and guaranteeing stability within the area.”
U.S. Vice President JD Vance stated late Wednesday afternoon that Rubio had briefed him on the incident. He added that the White Home was monitoring the state of affairs.
“Hopefully it’s not as dangerous as we worry it may very well be,” Vance stated.
The taking pictures threatens to increase tensions between the U.S. and Cuba. Following the ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, President Donald Trump and prime administration officers have taken an more and more aggressive stance towards Cuba, which had been largely kept economically afloat by Venezuela’s oil.
The vitality disaster Cuba has been grappling with in recent times entered new extremes final month when Trump signed an govt order that might impose a tariff on any nation that sells or offers oil to Cuba. The transfer put stress on Mexico, which Cuba turned largely depending on for petroleum after Trump halted oil shipments from Venezuela.
America’s prime diplomat says a dramatic shift should be made by Cuba’s authorities as a result of that’s the one manner to enhance the standard of lifetime of its residents.
Rubio says the federal government must make “dramatic reforms that open the area for each financial and ultimately political freedom for the folks of Cuba.”
In the meantime, James Uthmeier, Florida’s lawyer common, stated he has ordered prosecutors to work with federal, state and regulation enforcement companions to begin an investigation.
“The Cuban authorities can’t be trusted, and we’ll do every little thing in our energy to carry these communists accountable,” he wrote on X.
It’s commonplace for skirmishes to erupt between Cuba’s Coast Guard and U.S.-flagged speedboats in Cuban waters, however there have been no current stories of passengers opening hearth or being killed.
In previous years, a few of these U.S.-flagged boats had been laden with unidentified gadgets headed towards the island or they had been going to select up Cubans and smuggle them into the U.S.
Lee reported from Basseterre, St. Kitts and Coto from San José, Costa Rica. Related Press reporters Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska and Aamer Madhani and Konstantin Toropin in Washington, D.C. contributed to this report.
