Armed Infiltration or Humanitarian Mission?
Cuba said two of the wounded were already wanted in the country on terrorism-related allegations. A seventh individual, identified by Cuban authorities as having been sent from the United States to facilitate the speedboat’s arrival, was arrested on land and has reportedly confessed.
The interior ministry’s account paints the episode as a thwarted paramilitary incursion, framing it in stark terms of national defense and sovereignty.
U.S. Response and Independent Investigation
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was not involved in any official operation and plans to investigate independently to determine what happened. He emphasized the unusual nature of a maritime firefight and said U.S. agencies would collect their own information rather than relying solely on the Cuban government’s account.
Florida’s attorney general ordered a state-level probe, and U.S. officials said they were seeking access to survivors to establish whether any of the victims were U.S. citizens or legal residents.
