By Daniel Trotta
HAVANA, Feb 25 (Reuters) – 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 Cuban patrol, the Cuban government said at a time of heightened tensions with the United States.
The wounded were evacuated and receiving medical attention, while 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 incident took place as the United States has blocked virtually all oil shipments to the island, increasing pressure on the Communist-run government. American forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas on January 3, removing a key Cuban ally from power.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance said he had been briefed on the incident by Secretary of State Marco Rubio but that few details were known. The U.S. was monitoring the situation and “hopefully it’s not as bad as we fear it could be,” Vance said when asked by a reporter about the incident.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Speedboats smuggling people off the island have skirmished with Cuban forces in the past, including one incident in 2022 in which the Cuban border patrol killed one suspected smuggler, according to a Cuban government statement. It was one of 13 speedboats coming from the U.S. to be intercepted in the first half of that year, Cuba said.
Despite largely antagonistic relations between the United States and Cuba for 67 years, the two countries have cooperated on matters of drug trafficking and human smuggling in the Straits of Florida, notably during the period of rapprochement under former U.S. President Barack Obama. Under longstanding agreements, the U.S. Coast Guard has returned migrants captured at sea to Cuba.
In Wednesday’s incident, the speedboat came within one nautical mile of a channel on Falcones Cay, on the north coast of Cuba about 200 km (120 miles) 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 were 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 defense is a fundamental pillar for the Cuban state in safeguarding its sovereignty and stability in the region,” the Cuban statement said.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said he was ordering prosecutors to open an investigation in conjunction with other state and federal law enforcement partners, saying the Cuban account could not be trusted.
The Florida attorney general announced the Office of Statewide Prosecution would begin its own probe, saying in a Facebook post, “The Cuban government cannot be trusted, and we will do everything in our power to hold these communists accountable.”
U.S. Representative Carlos Gimenez, a Republican whose district includes the southern tip of Florida, called for a federal investigation, saying the incident raised serious concerns about the use of lethal force against a vessel registered in the United States.
Gimenez said he had asked the U.S. State Department and military to look into the matter, in which he accused Cuba of executing four people. He did not cite evidence.
“United States authorities must determine whether any of the victims were U.S. citizens or legal residents and establish exactly what occurred,” Gimenez said.
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta in Havana; Additional reporting by Andrea Shalal in WashingtonEditing by Bill Berkrot and Alistair Bell)
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