Topline
Cuba claimed it killed four and injured six others aboard a U.S. speedboat that entered Cuban waters Wednesday, saying the boat’s passengers opened fire on Cuban border patrol troops in an incident Secretary of State Marco Rubio called “highly unusual.”
Key Facts
According to a statement released by the Cuban Ministry of the Interior, the ship was one nautical mile northeast of the El Pino canal in Cayo Falcones Wednesday morning.
When five Cuban border guards moved to identify the vessel, individuals on the speedboat opened fire, the statement claims.
The commander of the Cuban boat was injured, and the six injured on the speedboat were transferred for emergency assistance.
The statement did not indicate who was in the Florida-registered speedboat, or why it entered Cuban waters and opened fire.
Rubio said no U.S. government personnel were involved in the shooting, telling reporters it is “highly unusual to see shootouts in open sea like that, it’s not something that happens every day, it’s something frankly that hasn’t happened with Cuba in a very long time.”
Rubio did not provide further details on the incident, saying he was not going to speculate on “what it could have been.”
Crucial Quote
“The reason why things are as bad as they are is because they have an economic model that does not exist,” Rubio added, referring to Cuba’s faltering economy, which has been impacted by government mismanagement, U.S. sanctions and a fuel crisis.
What To Watch For
Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., called for an investigation into the shooting to determine whether any of the victims were U.S. citizens or legal residents.
Fascinating Fact
Cuba and the United States are separated by just 90 miles of ocean at their closest point in the City of Key West. The Florida Straits are among the most heavily monitored maritime corridors in the Western Hemisphere after decades of migration attempts and drug-trafficking attempts.
Key Background
In January, President Trump declared a national emergency over what he described as Cuban “threats” to U.S. national security, accusing the country of supporting “numerous hostile countries, transnational terrorist groups, and malign actors adverse to the United States.” As a result, he approved sweeping new economic measures against the island, including extraterritorial tariffs designed to curb fuel shipments to Cuba, deepening an already acute energy crisis marked by fuel shortages and recurring blackouts. The move followed the collapse of Venezuelan oil supplies to Havana and accelerated what has become a broader 2026 crisis in U.S.-Cuba relations.
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