Cuban authorities state that the suspects’ boat was stocked with tactical equipment, assault rifles, and homemade explosives
Cuba’s Interior Ministry has shared new results from its probe into the fatal shootout between Cuban border guards and a U.S.-flagged speedboat, noting the vessel carried 10 armed individuals whom authorities claim planned a “terrorist infiltration.”
Havana stated the confrontation broke out on Wednesday when border guard forces approached a Florida-registered vessel, FL7726SH, operating about one nautical mile off the northern coast of Villa Clara province to conduct an identification check. Those aboard the boat are alleged to have fired first, injuring the commander of a Cuban patrol craft before guards returned fire, killing four people and injuring six others.
Cuban officials reported that weapons and tactical gear were found aboard, including assault rifles, handguns, handmade explosive devices such as Molotov cocktails, ballistic vests, telescopic sights, and camouflage uniforms — equipment the ministry said aligns with an attempted “infiltration with terrorist objectives.”