The 10 passengers on a U.S.-registered speedboat fired on by a Cuban Coast Guard vessel were allegedly armed exiles trying to infiltrate the island and unleash terrorism, Havana alleged Thursday.
The Cubans said they were Cuban nationals backed by the US. They named them and said they were residents of the US.
Four were killed, and six were injured and given medical care.
Cuba ha debido enfrentar numerosas infiltraciones terroristas y agresivas procedentes de #EEUU desde 1959, con un alto costo en vidas, heridos y daños materiales.
Se lleva a cabo una investigación rigurosa para esclarecer los hechos.
La defensa de las costas cubanas, del… pic.twitter.com/ubVCD9Q11y
— Bruno Rodríguez P (@BrunoRguezP) February 26, 2026
Cuba’s government said the majority of the 10 people on the boat “have a known history of criminal and violent activity.”
Versailles Bakery Ops?
This man thinks the Old Guard is trying to scuttle peace talks. I never heard of this operation.
GUN FIGHT IN CUBAN WATERS WITH FISHING BOAT
“The Cubans say the people on the boat started firing. It doesn’t really make sense. I think it came down to…old guard in Miami, trying to scuttle peace talks between the Trump admin and the new Cuban leadership.” @ReporterMcCabe pic.twitter.com/zCBzR6lXir
— Real America’s Voice (RAV) (@RealAmVoice) February 26, 2026
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had told reporters earlier that he was made aware of the incident. He added that the U.S. is now gathering its own information. They have yet to determine if the victims were American citizens or permanent residents, the AP reports.
SECRETARY RUBIO on CUBA: I have every reason to want our own information. We don’t make decisions in the United States on the basis of what the Cuban authorities are saying. pic.twitter.com/X9gP49R5YB
— Department of State (@StateDept) February 26, 2026
Havana said that two of the men on the boat, Amijail Sánchez González and Leordan Enrique Cruz Gómez, are wanted by Cuban authorities “based on their involvement in the promotion, planning, organization, financing, support, or commission” of terrorism.
It identified the others as Conrado Galindo Sariol, José Manuel Rodríguez Castelló, Cristian Ernesto Acosta Guevara, and Roberto Azcorra Consuegra.
Cuba’s government said that one of the four killed was Michel Ortega Casanova. His brother, Misael, told the AP that his sibling had developed an “obsessive and diabolical” quest for Cuba’s freedom. He said his brother was an American citizen who lived in the U.S. for more than 20 years.
Meanwhile, Galindo Sariol, another passenger, was identified as a former political prisoner.
A Warning and a Theory
“It’s still too early to speculate about the U.S. boat incident in Cuba.
The Cuban regime will twist it in its favor. U.S. intelligence and the media will frame it their way. And the Cuban diaspora will give it their own spin.
Even though we are no fans of the Cuban communist regime, which never misses an opportunity to portray itself as the victim, what was a supposedly private U.S. boat doing one mile off Cuba’s coast—and reportedly armed?
Entering the territorial waters of most countries and engaging in this alleged activity would be illegal and would likely be met with deadly force.
Were the individuals aboard the boat there to take matters into their own hands against the Cuban regime?
Were they there to smuggle family members out of Cuba?
What role, if any, did the CIA play? Because, like it or not, they are often involved—and, contrary to popular belief within the Cuban exile community, the CIA has historically not always acted against the Cuban regime. To the contrary, on many occasions it has strengthened it.
You’d have to be delusional to believe that the aerial and naval intelligence armada the U.S. has had monitoring Cuba for months didn’t see this boat heading from Florida toward the island.
What role did the Cuban regime play, through its agents in South Florida, in bringing this operation to fruition?”
It’s still too early to speculate about the U.S. boat incident in Cuba.
The Cuban regime will twist it in its favor. U.S. intelligence and the media will frame it their way. And the Cuban diaspora will give it their own spin.
Even though we are no fans of the Cuban communist… pic.twitter.com/U96cksZSWj
— Enrique Alejandro (@EnriAlejandroTV) February 26, 2026
It is a strange story.
Some things don t add up…