Cuban coast guard kills four people on Florida registered boat after it entered their waters and opened fire
Cuban officials said the Cuban Coast Guard killed four people on board after a Florida-registered speedboat crossed into the country’s waters and opened fire.
The incident occurred on Wednesday morning when the speedboat approached one nautical mile northeast of the El Pino channel in the Villa Clara region, the Cuban Embassy said in a statement on channel X.
Border Guard Troops confronted the speedboat, prompting the Florida-registered boat’s crew to open fire on Cuban personnel, the embassy said.
While the commander of the Cuban ship was injured in the conflict, four people on the Florida speedboat died and six people were injured.
Cuban officials said the six injured people on the Florida-registered speedboat were evacuated and received medical attention. Their nationalities are unknown.
In a statement, the embassy added: ‘In the face of current challenges, Cuba reaffirms its determination to protect its territorial waters based on the principle that national defense is a fundamental basis for preserving the sovereignty of the Cuban State and ensuring stability in the region.
‘The investigations of the competent authorities are continuing in order to fully shed light on the incident.’
U.S. officials have not commented on the incident and it is unclear who commanded the Florida-registered ship.
The Daily Mail has contacted the US State Department for comment.
Cuban officials said the Cuban Coast Guard killed four people on board after a Florida-registered speedboat crossed into the country’s waters and opened fire. The image is a stock image of a Cuban Coast Guard ship, not the ship in Wednesday’s incident
Florida Congressman Carlos Gimenez made an impassioned statement in response to the shooting, saying he called for an immediate investigation into what he described as a “massacre.”
‘I call for an immediate investigation into this massacre. Gimenez said U.S. authorities need to determine whether any of the victims were a U.S. citizen or legal resident and establish exactly what happened.
‘The regime in Cuba should be thrown into the dustbin of history because of the countless crimes it has committed against humanity.’
Gimenez’s office added that the incident ‘raises serious concerns about the use of lethal force against individuals aboard a United States-registered vessel.’
Florida Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar said on channel X that she was ‘watching the incident closely’.
Salazar, the daughter of Cuban exiles, did not elaborate on the shooting, writing: ‘This is an evolving situation and I await further details from US officials.’
