BBC
Cuba's Interior Ministry has announced that four men on a US-registered speedboat were shot and killed after being intercepted in Cuban waters.
In a statement, the ministry said that the speedboat's passengers opened fire on a coast guard vessel that approached them.
Six additional passengers were wounded in the incident, which took place near an island on Cuba's northern coast.
The identity of those on board the vessel or what it was doing in the area are unclear, with the Cuban government saying an investigation has been launched to "clarify" the event.
In statement posted on X via the Cuban Embassy in the US, the Interior Ministry said that the Florida-registered vessel - with the registration number FL7726SH - was detected near Cayo Falcones, in the country's central Villa Clara province on Wednesday morning.
When a Cuban boat carrying five members of the ministry's border guard approached the vessel for identification, "the crew of the violating speedboat opened fire" and wounded the Cuban commander, the statement said.
"As a consequence of the confrontation, as of the time of this report, four aggressors on the foreign vessel were killed and six injured," the statement added.
Those injured were evacuated and given medical assistance.
The BBC has contacted the US State Department and White House for comment.
Florida Representative Carlos Gimenez, a Cuban-American former mayor of Miami, said on X that he is demanding an "urgent" investigation into what he termed a "massacre", adding that US authorities "must determine whether any of the victims were US citizens or legal residents".
In a separate post, Gimenez added that the Cuban government "must be relegated to the dust bin of history".
The incident comes amid increased tensions between the US and Cuba, which is facing a deepening fuel crisis that has been worsened by the US blocking oil shipments from Venezuela, a long-standing ally in the region, to the island.
The Cuban statement alluded to these tensions, saying that "in the face of current challenges, Cuba reaffirms its determination to protect it territorial waters" and safeguard its sovereignty.
The incident also comes as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives in Saint Kitts and Nevis to meet with Caribbean leaders amid the Trump administration's push to ramp up pressure on Cuba's government, as well as other regional issues.
Statement released by the Cuban Embassy in the US:
Update:
WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT THE INCIDENT INVOLVING A TERRORIST SPEEDBOAT IN CUBA?
Point by point...
• The incident took place in the morning hours of this Wednesday north of the central province of Villa Clara
• The boat had a registration from the state of Florida FL7726SH
• On board were 10 armed men
• The boat entered Cuban territorial waters without authorization and without identifying itself
• The boat was intercepted by five members of the Cuban Border Guard Troops for identification
• As the Cuban troops approached, the occupants of the boat opened fire. Cuban authorities repelled the attack.
• In the confrontation, 4 of the occupants of the terrorist boat were killed and the other 6 were injured. The injured are receiving medical care in Cuban institutions.
• One Commander of the Border Guard Troops was also injured
• All the occupants of the terrorist boat are CUBANS RESIDING IN THE US
• The detained individuals were identified as:
1. Amijail Sánchez González
2. Leordan Enrique Cruz Gómez
3. Conrado Galindo Sariol
4. José Manuel RodrÃguez Castelló
5. Cristian Ernesto Acosta Guevara
6. Roberto Azcorra Consuegra
• Among the deceased, Michel Ortega Casanova was identified; the identification of the other three is still pending.
• According to initial statements, the detained individuals "intended to carry out an infiltration with TERRORIST PURPOSES"
• An 11th involved person, identified as Duniel Hernández Santos, was arrested on land; he confessed to having traveled from the US to "ensure the reception of the armed infiltration".
• Several of the terrorists had criminal records
• During the operation, assault rifles, handguns, hand grenades, bulletproof vests, telescopic sights and camouflage uniforms were seized
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