A maritime confrontation off Cuba’s northern coast ended in bloodshed Wednesday after Cuban border forces and occupants of a U.S.-registered speedboat exchanged gunfire in what Havana described as an attempted hostile landing, officials said. The incident, now dubbed the Cuba-Florida speedboat incident, has heightened already simmering tensions between Cuba and the United States.
Shootout in Cuban Waters
Cuban authorities said four people aboard the speedboat were fatally shot and six others wounded after the vessel entered Cuban territorial waters near Falcones Cay in Villa Clara province — a region just over 100 miles from Florida — and opened fire on a Cuban patrol vessel. One Cuban officer was also injured in the exchange, according to the island nation’s interior ministry.
The ministry identified the 24-foot vessel as Florida-registered and said the 10 people aboard were heavily armed with assault rifles, handguns, Molotov cocktails, bulletproof vests and camouflage gear. Cuba alleges the group comprised Cuban nationals residing in the U.S. and intended to carry out an “infiltration for terrorist purposes.”
