US op foiled? Cuba claims it shot dead 4 on Florida-registered boat after gunfight

Havana: Cuban soldiers killed four people and wounded six others aboard a Florida-registered speedboat that allegedly entered Cuban waters and opened fire first, authorities in Havana said on Wednesday, in an incident that Washington says it is independently investigating.

The shooting risks adding to already strained US-Cuba relations, which have deteriorated further amid economic pressure on Havana following new US measures targeting the island’s oil supplies and broader calls from Washington for political and economic reforms.

Cuba’s Interior Ministry said one Cuban officer was also injured during the confrontation, which took place about one mile (1.6 km) northeast of Cayo Falcones off the island’s north coast. The ministry provided the boat’s registration number but offered few other details.

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he had been briefed on the episode and that multiple US agencies were working to establish the facts, including whether any of those on board were American citizens or permanent residents.

“We 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,” Rubio told reporters in Basseterre, St Kitts, where he was attending a regional summit.

He declined to speculate on the circumstances, saying the situation could involve a “wide range of things” and stressing that Washington would not rely solely on Cuban accounts.

“Suffice it to say, it is highly unusual to see shootouts in open sea like that. It’s not something that happens every day. It’s something, frankly, that hasn’t happened with Cuba in a very long time,” he said.

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Rubio added that both the Department of Homeland Security and the US Coast Guard were examining the case.

“The 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’ll be prepared to respond accordingly,” he said. “We’re going to have our own information on this. We’re going to figure out exactly what happened.”

He emphasised that the incident was not a US government operation and said he would not speculate about the ownership or purpose of the vessel.

“We are going to know, and when we know, then we’ll tell you, and we’ll do what needs to be done about it, depending on what it is,” Rubio said, adding that US and Cuban authorities maintain “constant contact” at the Coast Guard level.

US Vice President JD Vance said the White House was monitoring developments after being briefed by Rubio.

“Hopefully it’s not as bad as we fear it could be,” Vance said.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said he had directed prosecutors to work with federal and state agencies to open an investigation, writing on social media: “The Cuban government cannot be trusted, and we will do everything in our power to hold these communists accountable.”

Cuba said the operation was carried out while “safeguarding its sovereignty and ensuring stability in the region,” but it did not say what the boat was doing in its waters.

While minor skirmishes between Cuban authorities and US-flagged speedboats have occurred in the past, often linked to smuggling or migration attempts, fatalities and exchanges of gunfire are rare.