HAVANA 鈥� Cuba鈥檚 government said late Wednesday that the 10 passengers on a boat that opened fire on its soldiers were armed Cubans living in the U.S. who were trying to infiltrate the island and unleash terrorism.
The announcement came hours after Cuba said its soldiers killed four people and wounded six others aboard a Florida-registered speed boat that had entered Cuban waters and opened fire on the soldiers first, injuring one Cuban officer.
Cuba鈥檚 government said the majority of the 10 people on the boat 鈥渉ave a known history of criminal and violent activity.鈥�
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had told reporters earlier that he was made aware of the incident and that the U.S. is now gathering its own information to determine if the victims were American citizens or permanent residents.
鈥淲e have various different elements of the U.S. government that are trying to identify elements of the story that may not be provided to us now,鈥� Rubio said while at the airport in Basseterre, St. Kitts, where he was attending a regional summit with Caribbean leaders.
The Cuban government identified two of the boat passengers as Amijail S谩nchez Gonz谩lez and Leordan Enrique Cruz G贸mez, who are wanted by Cuban authorities 鈥渂ased on their involvement in the promotion, planning, organization, financing, support or commission of actions carried out in the national territory or in other countries, in connection with acts of terrorism.鈥�
The government said it also had arrested Duniel Hern谩ndez Santos, adding that he was 鈥渟ent from the United States to guarantee the reception of the armed infiltration, who at this time has confessed to his actions.鈥�
The Associated Press was not immediately able to independently verify that information.
Cuba鈥檚 government said it obtained the details about the passengers aboard the boat from the suspects detained following the shootout.
It identified seven of the 10 passengers, including Conrado Galindo Sariol, Jos茅 Manuel Rodr铆guez Castell贸, Cristian Ernesto Acosta Guevara and Roberto Azcorra Consuegra. Cuba's government said that one of the four killed was Michel Ortega Casanova. Three others have not yet been identified.
鈥淭he investigation process continues until the facts are fully clarified,鈥� the ministry said in a statement.
A 鈥榟ighly unusual鈥� shootout
U.S. top diplomat refused to speculate on what happened, saying that it could be a 鈥渨ide range of things,鈥� and that the U.S. will not solely rely on what the Cuban authorities have provided thus far.
鈥淪uffice it to say, it is highly unusual to see shootouts in open sea like that. It鈥檚 not something that happens every day. It鈥檚 something, frankly, that hasn鈥檛 happened with Cuba in a very long time,鈥� Rubio said.
He said both the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Coast Guard are investigating the incident and stressed that he wants to verify the facts.
鈥淭he majority of the facts being publicly reported are those by the information provided by the Cubans. We will verify that independently as we gather more information, and we鈥檒l be prepared to respond accordingly," Rubio said. "We鈥檙e going to have our own information on this. We鈥檙e going to figure out exactly what happened.鈥�
He said it was not a U.S. government operation and that he wasn鈥檛 "going to speculate about whose boat it was, what they were doing, why they were there, what actually happened.鈥�
Rubio added: 鈥淲e are going to know, and when we know, then we鈥檒l tell you, and we鈥檒l do what needs to be done about it, depending on what it is.鈥�
Miami Congressman Carlos Gimenez, a Republican, rejected any notion of Cuba's stance that it was defensing itself as a sovereign country. He on social media that the Cuban government "just attacked a boat from Florida and murdered those on board."
Republican Miami Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar that she is "awaiting further details from U.S. authorities."
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeir that his office is looking into the incident: "I鈥檝e directed the Office of Statewide Prosecution to work with our federal, state, and law enforcement partners to begin an investigation. The Cuban government cannot be trusted, and we will do everything in our power to hold these communists accountable."
One of the men identified by the Cuban government, Conrado Galindo Sariol, was interviewed in June 2025 by Mart铆 Noticias, a U.S.-based news site that has long called for a change of government in Cuba.
Galindo, whom the host called 鈥渁 legend,鈥� was quoted as saying that he wants to support the struggles that Cubans face, especially in the eastern part of the island 鈥渢o achieve the freedom that is needed.鈥�
He said that the protests in Cuba at that time were 鈥渘ot a spark that鈥檚 going to be extinguished.鈥�
鈥淭he regime鈥檚 leaders are crisscrossing Cuba, trying to mitigate what鈥檚 coming very soon because ... they know they鈥檙e out of power, that they can鈥檛 do anything about it, and they鈥檙e looking for ways to prevent the protests from growing in other parts of the country,鈥� Galindo was quoted as saying.
Fear over increased tensions
Rubio said he found out about the shooting before the Cuban government posted on social media, noting that the U.S. has 鈥渃onstant contact鈥� with the country 鈥渁t the Coast Guard level.鈥�
Earlier, Cuba鈥檚 Interior Ministry issued a statement that provided few details about the shooting, but noted that the boat was roughly 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) northeast of Cayo Falcones, off Cuba鈥檚 north coast.
The government provided the boat鈥檚 registration number, but The Associated Press was unable to readily verify details of the boat because boat registrations are not public in the state of Florida.
It wasn鈥檛 immediately known what the boat and its occupants were doing in Cuban waters. In the statement, the ministry said Cuba鈥檚 government was 鈥渟afeguarding its sovereignty and ensuring stability in the region.鈥�
U.S. Vice President JD Vance said late Wednesday afternoon that Rubio had briefed him on the incident. He added that the White House was monitoring the situation.
鈥淗opefully it鈥檚 not as bad as we fear it could be,鈥� Vance said.
Growing U.S.-Cuba tensions
The shooting between the U.S. and Cuba. Following the ouster of Venezuelan President Nicol谩s Maduro, President Donald Trump and top administration officials have taken an increasingly aggressive stance toward Cuba, which had been by Venezuela鈥檚 oil.
The energy crisis Cuba has been grappling with in recent years entered new extremes last month when Trump signed an executive order that would impose a tariff on any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba. The move put pressure on Mexico, which Cuba became largely dependent on for petroleum after Trump halted oil shipments from Venezuela.
America鈥檚 top diplomat says a dramatic shift must be made by Cuba鈥檚 government because that鈥檚 the only way to improve the quality of life of its citizens.
Rubio says the government needs to make 鈥渄ramatic reforms that open the space for both economic and eventually political freedom for the people of Cuba.鈥�
It鈥檚 not unusual for skirmishes to erupt between Cuba鈥檚 Coast Guard and U.S.-flagged speedboats in Cuban waters, but there have been no recent reports of passengers opening fire or being killed.
In past years, some of those U.S.-flagged boats were laden with unidentified items headed toward the island or they were going to pick up Cubans and smuggle them into the U.S.
___
Lee reported from Basseterre, St. Kitts and Coto from San Jos茅, Costa Rica. Associated Press reporters Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska and Aamer Madhani and Konstantin Toropin in Washington, D.C. contributed to this report.
SA国际传谋 Reporter Danny Rivero contributed to this story.
