Cuba says four people died and six were wounded after a Florida-registered speedboat entered Cuban waters.
WASHINGTON, DC — Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday night that U.S. agencies are working to verify Cuba’s claim that Cuban forces killed four people and wounded six others during a confrontation with a Florida-registered speedboat off Cuba’s northern coast.
The incident, described by Cuban officials as an attempted armed infiltration, quickly drew attention in Washington and Florida because it involved a U.S.-registered vessel and casualties linked to Cuban exiles living in the United States. Rubio said the U.S. government had no role in the clash and wanted its own account of what happened as federal and state officials began parallel reviews.
Cuba’s Interior Ministry said the shootout happened Wednesday morning near Cayo Falcones, a small cay off Villa Clara province. Officials said a unit from Cuba’s border guard approached the speedboat to identify it and that people aboard the boat fired first, injuring a commander on the Cuban patrol craft. Cuban forces returned fire, the ministry said, killing four people on the speedboat and leaving six others injured. The injured were taken for medical care, Cuban officials said.
Rubio, speaking to reporters in Washington, said he had been briefed on the Cuban statement and that the U.S. was moving to gather information through its own channels. He rejected any suggestion that U.S. personnel were involved and said the focus was on independently confirming details, including who was on the vessel, what happened during the encounter, and how the boat ended up in Cuban territorial waters. He described the reported firefight as unusual and said multiple agencies would be involved in reviewing the facts.
Cuban officials said the speedboat carried 10 passengers and was registered in Florida. In a statement, the government described the passengers as Cubans living in the United States who were armed and wearing camouflage. Cuban authorities said they seized items they described as assault-style rifles, handguns, ammunition, protective gear, optics and improvised incendiary devices. They also said the group’s intent was to enter the country for what the government called terrorist purposes, a claim that could not be independently confirmed from outside Cuba on Wednesday.
Cuba identified six people it said were detained after the clash: Amijail Sánchez González, Leordan Enrique Cruz Gómez, Conrado Galindo Sariol, José Manuel Rodríguez Castelló, Cristian Ernesto Acosta Guevara and Roberto Azcorra Consuegra. Cuban officials said two of the detainees had been wanted in Cuba in connection with alleged plots or support for attacks. The government also identified one of the dead as Michel Ortega Casanova, saying he was a U.S. citizen who had lived in the United States for more than two decades. Cuban authorities said they were still working to confirm the identities of the other three people killed.
The ministry said the confrontation took place about a mile northeast of the El Pino channel area near Cayo Falcones and that the boat was in Cuban waters when it was intercepted. Cuban officials also said they detained one additional person on land, describing him as someone who was positioned to help receive the group after it reached shore. The government said the man, identified as Duniel Hernández Santos, confessed to involvement in the operation. U.S. officials did not immediately confirm those details.
The claims and counterclaims landed amid strained relations between Washington and Havana and long-running Cuban government allegations that violent plots are planned from abroad. Armed attacks from exile groups were more common decades ago, but they have been rare in recent years. The Florida Straits, where Cuba said the clash happened, is also a corridor known for migration attempts and smuggling activity, adding another layer of uncertainty about what led to the encounter and what the group intended to do once it reached Cuba.
In Florida, officials said they were seeking federal cooperation to determine who owned or operated the vessel and whether any U.S. laws were broken before the boat reached Cuba. State and local authorities indicated they were opening their own lines of inquiry because the boat was registered in Florida, while also questioning Cuba’s account and pressing for independent verification of the shooting. Federal officials did not publicly release the names of the dead or injured beyond what Cuba reported.
The episode also raised immediate practical questions that remained unanswered late Wednesday, including where the speedboat launched from, how it traveled undetected into Cuban waters, and whether any distress calls were made. It was also unclear whether the passengers had ties to any organized group in the United States, whether explosives were intended for use, and what evidence Cuba would provide to support its assertions about the group’s purpose. Rubio said the U.S. review would work to clarify those points.
Diplomatically, the case is likely to test already tense channels between the two countries. Any U.S. findings about the boat’s ownership, its departure point, and the identities of the people aboard could influence what steps come next, including potential criminal investigations in the United States. In Cuba, authorities signaled that detainees would face prosecution under Cuban law, though officials did not announce specific charges or a court date on Wednesday.
On the water, Cuba’s account described a brief and intense exchange of gunfire that left both sides with casualties. Cuban officials said the wounded border guard commander was injured during the first shots and that the patrol craft had five service members aboard. The government did not release the commander’s name. It also did not publish photos of the seized weapons in its initial statements, though Cuban media and officials said the items were collected after the confrontation.
In Washington, Rubio said the U.S. wanted facts rather than competing narratives. He said the goal was to determine exactly what happened and to account for U.S. citizens who may have been involved, directly or indirectly, because the boat was registered in Florida and at least one of the dead was identified by Cuba as a U.S. citizen. He said more information would be provided as the review progressed.
By late Wednesday, the main points remained Cuba’s version of events and the start of U.S. and Florida investigations to verify it. Officials said the next milestone would be learning more about the vessel’s ownership and travel path and whether U.S. agencies can independently confirm the circumstances of the shooting.
Author note: Last updated February 26, 2026.