HAVANA (AP) – Late on Friday, high-ranking officials from Cuba's Ministry of the Interior disclosed the items found aboard a Florida-flagged speedboat involved in an armed confrontation with Cuban troops off the island's north coast earlier that week. The armed encounter resulted in the deaths of four suspects, as the Cuban military responded to gunfire from the intruding vessel.
The authorities confirmed that 10 Cuban suspects had departed from the U.S. in two boats. After one vessel became disabled, they transferred their supplies to the remaining boat and abandoned the other. Cuban officials claimed that the captured suspects had immediately alerted the U.S. Coast Guard regarding their actions.
Officials listed an array of items recovered from the speedboat. This included a dozen high-powered weapons, one equipped with a scope, over 12,800 rounds of ammunition housed in a large cooler, 11 pistols, heavy-duty boots, helmets outfitted with cameras, and camouflage backpacks. "We clearly assessed that we were facing a terrorist action from a boat coming from the United States," stated 1st Col. Ivey Daniel Carballo of the Cuban Border Guard Troops in an interview with the AP.
On the Wednesday morning of the incident, a 30-foot (nine-meter) border patrol boat identified the intruder and approached within approximately 600 feet (185 meters) for investigation. However, it was met with a barrage of high-caliber gunfire. Carballo reported that three attackers were killed immediately on site, while a fourth succumbed to injuries later. The speedboat was located about one mile (1.6 kilometers) northeast of Cayo Falcones, alongside Cuba’s northern coast, with Carballo indicating that one of the border guard commanders had also sustained injuries during the exchange.
Victor Eduardo Álvarez Valle, a senior official in Criminal Investigation for State Security at the Ministry of the Interior, expressed surprise at the level of resistance encountered. “We didn't expect it, especially with that many people and weapons," he mentioned. He elaborated that the military equipment discovered on board had been identified by the assailants, including details on its acquisition and the training received by the attackers. He added that authorities had obtained information on who financed the operation.
The forensic analysis revealed 13 bullet holes on the border guard vessel and 21 on the suspect’s boat, corroborating the occurrence of active combat. The Cuban government initially reported the capture of one person on land; however, Álvarez clarified that there is no evidence at this time of any support network for the suspects within Cuba.
Edward Robert Campbell, the Chief Prosecutor of the Directorate at the Attorney General’s Office, indicated that the six arrested individuals, all of Cuban origin, could face serious terrorism charges. These charges carry potential penalties ranging from 30 years to life imprisonment, although the death penalty, which has been on moratorium for over a decade in Cuba, remains a theoretical possibility.
Cuban military officials presented the recovered items at the former headquarters of the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio clarified that this incident was not a sanctioned government operation and that the U.S. government was independently gathering information regarding the event.
