The U.S. and Cuban governments have opened investigations into a firefight between armed passengers on an American-registered speedboat and members of the Cuban military that left four people dead.
The exact circumstances and motives of the 10 people onboard the boat remain unknown, though a family member of one of the deceased men said he had developed an “obsessive and diabolical” quest for Cuba’s freedom. Another was an Amazon delivery driver in areas around Miami, according to his daughter.
The country’s Ministry of the Interior claimed Wednesday that the individuals were Cuban nationals living in America, who were attempting to infiltrate the country “for terrorist purposes.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that, while the incident was not an American operation, the U.S. would respond “appropriately.”
It comes at a time in which tensions between the two nations continue to rise, after President Donald Trump used the new U.S. leverage in Venezuela to impose an effective oil embargo on the communist nation.
The incident occurred Wednesday morning after the boat entered Cuban waters in Falcones Cay, Villa Clara province, and was approached by the coast guard and asked for identification. Crew members then opened fire on the troops, injuring their commander, Cuban officials claim.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, the soldiers returned fire, killing four people and injuring six – who were then evacuated from the scene for medical treatment. Authorities say they found assault rifles, handguns, molotov cocktails, body armor and fatigues on the vessel.
As of Thursday, the Cuban government said it has identified seven of the 10 passengers.
Two of the men, Amijail Sánchez González and Leordan Enrique Cruz Gómez, are wanted by Cuban authorities “based on their involvement in the promotion, planning, organization, financing, support or commission” of terrorism, the Ministry said.
One of the four killed was named as Michel Ortega Casanova, an American citizen who lived in the U.S. for more than 20 years. Casanova’s brother told The Associated Press that he had become militant in his quest for Cuban freedom due to the suffering they endured on the island.
“Only us Cubans who have lived over there understand,” Misael Ortega Casanova told the AP after his brother’s death, while also calling his mission “obsessive and diabolic.”
He told the outlet that his brother was a truck driver and leaves behind his wife, mother, two sisters – one of whom still lives in Cuba – and a pregnant daughter.
The other passengers were identified as José Manuel Rodríguez Castelló, Cristian Ernesto Acosta Guevara, Roberto Azcorra Consuegra, and former political prisoner Conrado Galindo Sariol.
Conrado Galindo Sariol’s daughter, Maria de Jesus Galindo, said she had no idea that her father was involved in the violent incident in Cuba and thought he had been working his usual job delivering packages for Amazon in areas just outside Miami.
“It was a total surprise,” the 22-year-old told The Washington Post. “I’m in shock. I never would have expected this.” She added that she had last seen her father three days ago and had not been in touch with him on Wednesday.
The Independent has contacted Amazon for more information on his alleged employment.
Both Cuba and the U.S. have vowed to establish the facts of the incident.
“We have stated this repeatedly, and we reiterate it today: Cuba will defend itself with determination and firmness against any terrorist or mercenary aggression that seeks to undermine its sovereignty and national stability,” Cuban president Miguel Diaz-Canel wrote on X Thursday.
Rubio also said the American government was gathering information, including whether the people were U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Cuban authorities said that the boat the men were riding in was registered in Florida, around 100 miles from where the incident took place.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida said it was pursuing answers “through every legal and diplomatic channel available,” adding that “facts remain unclear and conflicting.”
Other Florida lawmakers expressed skepticism over the Cuban government’s version of events, with Republican Rep. María Elvira Salazar saying on X that “the regime lies, manipulates, and rewrites reality to protect itself.”
Salazar called for a full investigation as did Florida Senator Rick Scott, who said “The Communist Cuban regime must be held accountable!”
“The bottom line is the Communist Cuban regime must go,” added Florida Rep Byron Donalds.
Wednesday’s incident comes at an unfortunate time for relations between the two nations as the Trump administration takes an increasingly aggressive stance towards Cuba.
Following the capture of ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro on January 3, Trump halted oil shipments to Cuba and later signed an executive order imposing tariffs on any nation that sold or provided oil to the Caribbean island.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Treasury Department slightly eased restrictions on the sale of Venezuelan oil to Cuba, but the island’s energy and economic crisis is expected to persist.
William LeoGrande, an American University expert on Cuba, said Cuba’s private sector would not import enough oil “to really make a significant dent in the humanitarian crisis.”
“Any sizeable imports would probably have to go through the Cuban government’s import agency, and whether the embargo will allow that is still not entirely clear,” LeoGrande told reporters Thursday.
