Cuban forces kill four on board Florida-based speedboat

Cuban forces have killed four people and wounded six others on board a Florida-based speedboat that entered Cuban waters and opened fire on a local patrol, the island nation’s government says.

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 the matter was under investigation to clarify exactly what happened.

It was unclear if any US citizens were on board.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said it not an American operation and no one from the US government was involved.

He told reporters Washington will do its own verification and reach its own conclusion about the incident.

US Vice President JD Vance said the White House was monitoring the situation.

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

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 US 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 co-operated on matters of drug trafficking and human smuggling in the Straits of Florida, notably during the period of rapprochement under former US president Barack Obama.

Under longstanding agreements, the US Coast Guard has returned migrants captured at sea to Cuba.

The incident on Wednesday, local time, took place amid tension between Cuba and the United States, which 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.

The speedboat came within 1.9 kilometres of a channel on Falcones Cay, on the north coast of Cuba about 200km 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.

The US State Department did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

“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.

With AP