Cuba names ‘terrorists’ aboard boat gunned down by officials | US | News

Cuban officials claimed the US-registered speedboat was not civilians but terrorists ‘with a history of criminal and violent activities’ approaching the island nation.

Havana’s claim came hours after border officials announced they shot four people dead and injured six others after the American-flagged ship opened fire on Cuban authorities while in territorial waters.

The Cuban government said most of the 10 people on the boat “had a known history of criminal and violent activity.”

Two of them were identified as Amijail Sánchez González and Leordan Enrique Cruz Gómez; they were wanted by Cuban authorities “for their involvement in the promotion, planning, organization, financing, support or commission of acts committed in connection with acts of terrorism on the national territory or in other countries.”

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The government said Duniel Hernández Santos was also arrested, according to the Associated Press, adding that he was “sent from the United States to guarantee the coverage of the armed infiltrator who has now confessed to his actions.”

The update came just hours after the Cuban Ministry of Internal Affairs (MININT) confirmed that a US speedboat with Florida registration number had been detected within one nautical mile of the El Pino Channel on the island of Cayo Falcones.

According to the official statement, the conflict began when the “violating” ships fired at the Cuban border guards, wounding the commander, after a unit of the Border Guard Corps approached the boat to identify it.

In the MININT statement, it was claimed that “the aggressive boat opened fire on the Cuban personnel, causing the commander of the Cuban ship to be injured.” “As a result of the conflict, at the time of this report, four attackers were killed and six injured on the foreign side, who were evacuated and received medical attention.”

The conflict involved a US civilian boat that was part of the flotilla used to remove relatives from Cuba, a US official said, adding that the ship was not a US Navy or Coast Guard boat. The New York Times reported.

Marco Rubio, St. He spoke to reporters from an airport in St. Kitts and Nevis; The US Secretary of State is returning from the Caribbean after a visit to allay the fears of local leaders unsettled by Trump’s recent policies and actions, including the involvement of Venezuelan Nicolás Maduro in a US military operation.

He said U.S. officials are in the process of gathering information to better understand the victims and what happened in Cuban waters.

“There are a variety of different elements of the U.S. government that are trying to determine elements of the story that are not currently available to us,” he said.

Following the Florida speedboat shooting, Florida’s Republican representative, Carlos Gimenez, issued a statement claiming that the Cuban government was “killing” Americans.

“The dictatorship in Cuba has just attacked a boat from Florida and murdered those on board,” he said, adding that the “regime must be relegated to the dustbin of history” and he is calling for an “immediate investigation into this massacre”.

He later launched a vicious attack on social media against Jamaican prime minister Andrew Holness after Caribbean released a statement about the boat killings.

Holness said in a statement on social media: “We must talk openly about what is happening in Cuba. This moment calls for responsible leadership and constructive dialogue, especially between Cuba and the United States, to reduce tensions and promote reform and stability.”

The Jamaican leader later added: “Jamaica will continue to stand in solidarity with the Cuban people while supporting practical steps that will lead to stability and shared prosperity for our region.”

Gimenez responded to this statement on

Images from Holness’ social media posts show Holness meeting with Marco Rubio in recent days for “productive discussions” that reaffirmed “the strong and historic ties between Jamaica and the United States and our shared commitment to working together for the benefit of our peoples.”