Ten gunmen on a speedboat flying the US flag were defeated in a deadly gunfight with Cuban border guards
Cuba has made public photographs of the many weapons, ammunition, and tactical equipment taken from the gunmen who recently made an attempt at what it has described as an “armed infiltration for terrorist purposes” off the coast of the island nation.
On Wednesday morning, ten gunmen on a speedboat registered in Florida tried to enter Cuban territorial waters, the Cuban Embassy in the US said in a statement on Saturday. They are said to have opened fire on a patrol vessel during an attempted interception, wounding the captain. The Cuban boat, with a crew of five, returned fire, killing three gunmen and injuring the rest, according to the statement.
The authorities seized a number of weapons, 134 magazines, and a total of 12,846 rounds of ammunition of different calibers, the embassy said. They are also said to have captured a drone, a portable generator, and ten communication devices.
Each of the gunmen also had a pre – prepared individual kit, which included a rifle, pistol, knife, camouflage uniform, balaclava, helmet, first – aid kit, and “other attachments,” Cuban news outlet Cubadebate reported on Saturday.
Photographs of the seized equipment released by the Cuban Embassy in the US show a number of AR – 15 rifles and other weapons, as well as Molotov cocktails. Some of the helmets seem to be equipped with night or thermal vision.
Investigators have found that two boats originally left Florida, Cubadebate quoted Colonel Victor Alvarez Valle, one of the heads of Criminal Investigation for State Security at the Interior Ministry, as saying.
“One encountered technical problems on the way, and the people on it moved to the other boat, which is why they finally arrived in a single boat,” he was reported to have said.
One of the gunmen was identified as Amijail Sanchez Gonzalez, who was previously marked by the Cuban authorities as “linked to terrorist activities,” Cubadebate quoted Valle as saying. The investigation shows that the person behind the incident is US – resident Maritza Lugo Fernandez, a member of the November 30th anti – Castro insurgency, he stated.