Cuba kills 4 ‘infiltrators’ in Florida-flagged boat

What happened

Cuba’s Interior Ministry said 10 U.S-based Cuban nationals in a Florida-registered speedboat fired on border guards in Cuban waters Wednesday morning, wounding a commander and sparking a gun battle in which “four foreign attackers were killed and six were wounded.” The six survivors, in detention after being given medical treatment, indicated in “preliminary statements” that the group had “intended to carry out an infiltration for terrorist purposes,” the ministry said last night, adding that an 11th man who had flown to Cuba “confessed” he was “sent from the United States to guarantee the reception of the armed infiltration.”

Who said what

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. was investigating the incident and ascertaining the nationalities of those involved. “As we gather more information, we’ll be prepared to respond accordingly,” he told reporters. Asked if it was a U.S. government operation or if U.S. government personnel were involved, Rubio said “No.”

Cuba said the interdicted boat was carrying firearms, Molotov cocktails, bulletproof jackets and camouflage gear. It released the names of seven of the 10 men, including two it said were wanted by Cuban authorities and one of the men killed, Michel Ortega Casanova. Misael Ortega Casanova told The Associated Press that his brother was an American citizen who had fallen into an “obsessive and diabolical” quest for Cuba’s freedom.

“U.S. lawmakers who support hard-line Cuba policies” described the incident “as an act of aggression” by Havana, The Wall Street Journal said. “The Cuban government cannot be trusted,” Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (R) said on social media, “and we will do everything in our power to hold these communists accountable.” Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.) said the “dictatorship in Cuba” had “murdered” the four men and “must be relegated to the dustbin of history.” Vice President JD Vance said the Trump administration was monitoring the situation and “hopefully it’s not as bad as we fear it could be.”

What next?

The shooting “threatens to increase tensions between the U.S. and Cuba,” the AP said. The Trump administration’s recent oil blockade has left the Cuban economy “in a free fall,” The New York Times said, prompting “widespread oil shortages and soaring food prices.” The Treasury Department Wednesday said it would ease its blockade for private sector transactions, including oil sales, to “support the Cuban people.”