&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "US citizens in Cuba boat shooting? White House reveals SHOCKING details")
At least one American citizen was shot dead, and another was injured by Cuban authorities, who intercepted a Florida-registered speedboat after an exchange of gunfire near Cuban territorial waters, according to media reports citing US officials. Meanwhile, a third person on the boat was on a US K-1 visa, which is issued for fiancées of American citizens. Cuba has accused the 10 people on the boat of “an infiltration with terrorist aims”, adding they opened fire first.
According to Cuba’s Interior Ministry, four people were killed while six were injured and arrested on the boat that came from Florida. CBS reported that White House has confirmed that one of the people who died was an American citizen. Others are believed to be legal permanent residents of the US, although it is not clear how many. The development was first reported by Axios.
Earlier, Cuba had said that those aboard the boat were Cuban nationals living in the US. The boat’s owner has claimed that it was stolen by an employee, CBS reported, citing a US official and an incident report from the Monroe County Sheriff's Office in Florida.
Who were aboard the boat?
Cuban authorities have identified four killed in the incident as Pavel Alling Peña, Michael Ortega Casanova, Ledián Padrón Guevara and Hector Duani Cruz Correa. The others have been named as Cristian Ernesto Acosta Guevara, Conrado Galindo Sariol, José Manuel Rodríguez Castelló, Leordan Enrique Cruz Gómez, Amijail Sánchez González and Roberto Álvarez Ávila.
On Thursday (Feb 16), the Cuban Embassy in the US said that Sánchez González and Cruz Gómez were wanted by Cuba and were included in lists provided to the US in 2023 and 2025 of people “that have been subject to criminal investigations and are wanted by the Cuban authorities for their involvement in acts of terrorism.” It added that they “enjoyed impunity within US territory.”
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The embassy added that the US government has shown their willingness to cooperate in clarifying the facts. The US has not yet provided information related to the identity of the occupants of the boat.
‘Highly unusual’ incident
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday (Feb 25) said that the US Department of Homeland Security, the Coast Guard and other agencies were investigating the “highly unusual” incident. He added that the US government did not have any information beyond what Cuban authorities had said.
“We’re gonna find out exactly what happened here and we’ll respond accordingly,” Rubio said.
The incident comes amid tensions between Cuba and the US after US President Donald Trump imposed new sanctions and tariffs on Havana. Trump has also threatened the South American nation over drug smuggling after an operation involving the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
