Cuba Speedboat Killing: ‘Terrorist’ Claims & Coastal Agent Role

Rubio also called the episode “extremely unusual” and said Washington will not base its conclusions “on what the Cubans told us.”

Also this Wednesday, the United States Treasury Department announced that the country will allow the export of Venezuelan oil to Cuba’s private sector for commercial and humanitarian use.

The Secretary of State warned that sanctions will be resumed if the oil ends up being destined for the government or the Armed Forces.

According to the version of the Cuban Ministry of the Interior, the boat with Florida registration was approximately one nautical mile northeast of the El Pino maritime channel.

When the Cuban vessel with five Coast Guard members approached the vehicle for identification, “the boat’s crew fired”, wounding the Cuban commander.

“As a result of the confrontation, four attackers were killed and six were injured, being rescued and receiving medical attention,” Minint said in a first statement.

Subsequently, the ministry began referring to the injured as detainees and released their identities: Amijail Sánchez González, Leordan Enrique Cruz Gómez, Conrado Galindo Sariol, José Manuel Rodríguez Castelló, Cristian Ernesto Acosta Guevara and Roberto Azcorra Consuegra.

Among the dead was Michel Ortega Casanova. The other three are still being identified, according to Minint.

Minint stated that “investigations continue to fully clarify the facts.”

In turn, the Cuban Presidency published on platform

The BBC contacted the United States Department of State and the White House to request their versions of events.

In an interview with reporters in St. Kitts and Nevis, where he traveled to meet with Caribbean leaders — amid the Donald Trump administration’s effort to increase pressure on the Cuban government — Rubio said it was “extremely unusual to see gunfire on the high seas like this.”

“It’s not a common thing that happens every day,” he said.

“We will find out exactly what happened, who was involved, and we will make a decision based on what we find out,” he continued.

He promised the United States will act “quickly” to gather key information about the case and that the US Coast Guard has already moved to the “proximities” of the attack.

“I don’t know who is in possession of the vessel. That’s the first thing we want to clarify,” he said.

“Obviously we want to have access to these people if they are American citizens or residents of the United States,” Rubio said, before the Cuban government released information about the people detained.

The incident comes amid rising tensions between the US and Cuba, which is facing an increasingly serious fuel crisis, worsened by the US blockade of oil supplies from Venezuela, a long-time ally for the island.

The Cuban statement alluded to these tensions, stating that “in the face of current challenges, Cuba reaffirms its determination to protect its territorial waters” and safeguard its sovereignty.

Wednesday’s incident prompted several Florida lawmakers to call for an investigation and criticize the Cuban government.

Florida Congressman Carlos Gimenez, the former Cuban-American mayor of Miami, said he would demand an investigation into what he called a “massacre.”

James Uthmeier, Florida’s attorney general, said he would direct local law enforcement authorities to investigate the incident.

“The Cuban government cannot be trusted and we will do everything in our power to hold these communists accountable,” he said.

In the Senate, Republican Rick Scott demanded “a full investigation of this deeply troubling situation and to determine what happened.”

“The Cuban communist regime needs to be held accountable!” he added.