Update via CBS:
Cuba’s Interior Ministry said Wednesday night that the boat was carrying 10 people armed with assault rifles, handguns, Molotov cocktails, bulletproof vests, telescopic sights and camouflage uniforms, and the occupants of the boat were attempting to “carry out an infiltration for terrorist purposes.” The ministry said all 10 people were Cubans living in the U.S., and alleged that most have violent criminal histories.
The ministry identified one of the four who were killed as Michel Ortega Casanova. Six others who were arrested were identified as Amijail Sánchez González, Leordan Enrique Cruz Gómez, Conrado Galindo Sariol, José Manuel Rodríguez Castelló, Cristian Ernesto Acosta Guevara and Roberto Azcorra Consuegra.
Those identities and the alleged motives have not been confirmed by the U.S.
The ministry also said a seventh person, Cuban national Duniel Hernández Santos, was arrested on the island of Cuba and alleged he had been sent from the U.S. to help those on the boat.
Secretary Rubio has no additionaln information.
Original Story
Cuban officials said a Florida-registered speedboat flying a US flag violated their territorial waters on Wednesday, kicking off an armed confrontation with Cuban border guard troops in which four people on the vessel were killed. Six are receiving medical care
Cuba’s Ministry of the Interior posted a statement about the confrontation on Facebook.
This is taking place as the US is blowing drug boats out of the water and blocking oil to Cuba to collapse the communist government.
The Cuban Story
Five Cuban border guard troops on a government boat approached the speedboat seeking identification, when the people aboard the boat allegedly opened fire on Cuban personnel, wounding a Cuban commander, according to the ministry’s statement and Cuban state media.
The incident comes amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Cuba over the Trump administration’s restriction of oil shipments to the country, especially from Venezuela, though the U.S. announced on Wednesday it would allow some sales to Cuba’s private sector.
A U.S. official initially said the firefight had involved a U.S. civilian boat that was part of a flotilla to get relatives out of Cuba, adding that the vessel was not a U.S. Naval or Coast Guard boat. But later intelligence confirmed that a single boat had been attacked.
We Will Hold These “Communists Accountable”
Attorney General James Uthmeier said, “I’ve 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.”
I’ve 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. https://t.co/IYiWTbtV7o
— Attorney General James Uthmeier (@AGJamesUthmeier) February 25, 2026
In a statement, Representative Carlos A. Gimenez, a Republican of Florida, called for an immediate investigation into what he called a “massacre.” The attorney general of Florida, James Uthmeier, said he had ordered the state’s Office of Statewide Prosecution to open an investigation into the shooting, adding, “The Cuban government cannot be trusted, and we will do everything in our power to hold these communists accountable.”
Marco Rubio briefed JD Vance, who is monitoring the situation. Secretary Rubio is hoping the situation isn’t as serious as it appears to be.
The shooting comes amid an aggressive campaign by the Trump administration against speedboats in the region that the White House has claimed are trafficking drugs to the United States.
BREAKING:
Cuban forces open fire on a Florida-registered speedboat in the waters near Cuba’s Villa Clara province.
4 people killed and 6 wounded. It’s unclear at this point if any U.S. citizens have been killed. pic.twitter.com/J128qA5APN
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) February 25, 2026
This is the kind of confusion that results when Communists (or other leftists) are involved. I do not trust the word of any Communist, especially those who refer to themselves as Democrats. I sincerely doubt that those in this “speedboat” are simply American citizens from Florida out for a recreational cruise in Cuban waters. Something else is going on here.… Read more »
Is it confirmed the boat was registered in the USA ?
Could it be drug traffickers pretending to be Americans ?
I mean it was a speed boat and that is what drug traffckers use
and a US flag would be a sort of decoy.
Maybe I read the article too fast and I missed something ?