Cuba Kills 4 on Florida Speedboat Near Villa Clara

A Florida-registered speedboat was intercepted Wednesday morning, February 25, in Cuban territorial waters, triggering a shootout that left four people dead and six wounded aboard the vessel. The incident, confirmed by Cuba’s Interior Ministry (MININT), occurred near Cayo Falcones in Villa Clara province, about 200 kilometers east of Havana.

What We Know About the Incident

According to MININT’s official statement, the vessel — registered in Florida with the number FL7726SH — was detected navigating illegally inside Cuban territorial waters, one nautical mile northeast of the El Pino channel. A Cuban border patrol boat with five officers approached the speedboat to identify it and order it to stop.

At that point, the speedboat’s crew opened fire on the Cuban border guards, wounding the patrol boat’s commander. Cuba returned fire. The result: four dead and six wounded among the speedboat’s occupants. All wounded were evacuated and are receiving medical treatment, Cuban authorities said.

The Cuban government did not reveal the identities of those killed or their possible motivations. In its statement, Havana reaffirmed “its commitment to protecting its territorial waters, based on the principle that national defense is a fundamental pillar for the Cuban state.”

Reactions in the United States

The incident triggered immediate reactions in Florida. State Attorney General James Uthmeier announced he had ordered the Office of Statewide Prosecution to open its own investigation, posting on social media that “the Cuban government cannot be trusted, and we will do everything in our power to hold these communists accountable.”

Republican Congressman Carlos Gimenez, whose district includes the southern tip of Florida, asked the State Department and U.S. military to investigate, accusing Cuba of having “executed” four people — though without citing evidence to support that characterization.

“United States authorities must determine whether any of the victims were U.S. citizens or legal residents and establish exactly what occurred,” Gimenez said.

The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A Moment of Maximum Tension

The incident comes at a moment of severely strained bilateral relations. Since the Trump administration tightened its oil blockade following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in early January — depriving Cuba of its main fuel supplier — the island has become even more isolated economically and energetically.

Such confrontations are not entirely unprecedented. Two similar incidents were recorded in Cuban waters in 2022. However, the current political context — with Trump applying maximum pressure on Havana — makes this incident a potential first-order diplomatic flashpoint.

For now, the identities of those killed and the exact circumstances of the shooting remain without independent verification. Both Cuba and the United States have announced separate investigations.

Sources: Reuters, Infobae, El País, BBC, MININT Cuba