Cuban soldiers shot dead four crew members of a US-registered boat off the country's coast. Havana spoke of an armed attack. "This is not a US operation", Rubio said.
Cuban soldiers shot dead four crew members of a US-registered boat sailing off the country's coast. The other six were wounded. A Cuban soldier was also wounded. Cuba's Interior Ministry said that the boat's passengers opened fire on the soldiers in Cuban territorial waters, after which the soldiers returned fire. The crew of the boat intended to invade Cuba "for terrorist purposes," the ministry said.
"All the participants are Cubans living in the United States. Most of them have criminal records," the Cuban government said.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, the incident occurred on Wednesday, February 25, about 1.6 kilometers northeast of Cayo Falcones, off the northern coast of Cuba. In the early hours of the day, Cuban authorities detected "a motorboat in Cuban territorial waters with the registration number FL7726SH from Florida, USA".
According to the ministry, "automatic weapons, pistols, improvised explosive devices, body armor, optical sights and camouflage uniforms" were found and confiscated on board the boat, registered in the state of Florida, according to German television CDF.
Another person was arrested on Cuban territory who admitted that he was "sent" by the United States to participate in the terrorist operation, writes German public-law media ARD, citing the Cuban Interior Ministry. According to Havana, cited by Spanish media, the man has been identified as Duniel Hernandez Santos.
Rubio: This is not a US operation
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that Washington would respond "appropriately" after learning all the details of Cuba's operation against the motorboat coming from Florida.
"I will not speculate or express an opinion; I want to know what happened. We will find out exactly what happened and we will react appropriately," he told the media during the Caribbean Community summit, which is taking place in St. Kitts and Nevis.
Rubio pointed out that all the data known so far comes from Cuban authorities and said that the Donald Trump administration wants to verify what happened through "independent information". He denied that it was a US operation and stressed that no US government official was involved in the shootout.
Rubio said the US embassy in Havana had requested contact with the surviving crew of the boat, who are believed to be US citizens. He described the incident as "unusual".
The US Secretary of State said that the US Coast Guard was heading to the region. Florida Attorney General James Utmeier said he had ordered an investigation into the incident. Cuba is located about 145 kilometres from southern Florida.
The economic crisis in Cuba is growing
The incident off the coast of Cuba comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and Havana. Following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in early January during a US military operation, US President Donald Trump halted oil shipments from Venezuela to Cuba. He threatened countries that supply oil to the Caribbean island nation with additional US tariffs.
The oil blockade has exacerbated the economic crisis in the Caribbean nation. The Cuban government has introduced drastic energy-saving measures, including limiting school hours and public transport and shortening working hours. However, on Wednesday, the US Treasury Department announced that restrictions on Venezuelan oil exports to Cuba would be eased for humanitarian reasons - exports for commercial and humanitarian purposes would be allowed. However, some existing sanctions will remain in force.