Cuba says 4 killed after speedboat from Florida entered Cuban waters and opened fire

Four people are dead after a speedboat from Florida entered Cuban waters and began firing on border patrol troops on Wednesday morning, the Cuban Ministry of the Interior said. 

The ship was one nautical mile northeast of the El Pino canal in Cayo Falcones, the ministry said in a statement. When five members of the Border Guard Troops approached the boat for identification, those aboard the speedboat allegedly began shooting. The commander of the Cuban boat was injured, the ministry said. 

“As a result of the confrontation,” four people aboard the speedboat were killed and six were injured, the ministry said. The injured parties “were evacuated and received medical assistance.” 

It is not clear who was in the Florida-registered speedboat, where they were from or what their reason was for entering Cuban waters or opening fire. An investigation is ongoing, the ministry said. 

The Cuban government said it “ratifies its willingness to protect territorial waters, based on the fact that national defense is a fundamental pillar for the Cuban State in favor of the protection of its sovereignty and stability in the region.”