Cuba claims Florida-registered boat group planned “terrorist infiltration”

Cuba’s Interior Ministry claims a group intercepted aboard a Florida-registered speedboat intended to carry out a terrorist infiltration on the island, according to a government statement. Four people were killed and six others were injured in the confrontation.

The incident occurred Wednesday morning about 1 nautical mile northeast of the El Pino channel near Cayo Falcones, in Corralillo, Villa Clara province, according to the Interior Ministry.

Cuban officials claimed a Border Guard Troops surface unit approached the boat for identification after it entered Cuban territorial waters and that people on board opened fire, injuring the commander of the Cuban vessel.

In its follow-up statement, the ministry said the speedboat “neutralized” by Cuban forces was registered in Florida as FL7726SH and was allegedly carrying 10 armed people.

“Preliminary statements from detainees indicate the group intended to conduct an infiltration for terrorist purposes,” the ministry said. Cuban authorities have not released evidence to support the claims.

Cuban authorities claim they seized assault rifles, handguns, improvised explosive devices described as Molotov cocktails, bulletproof vests, telescopic sights and camouflage uniforms.

Six detainees have been identified: Amijail Sánchez González, Leordan Enrique Cruz Gómez, Conrado Galindo Sariol, José Manuel Rodríguez Castelló, Cristian Ernesto Acosta Guevara and Roberto Azcorra Consuegra.

Among the dead, officials identified Michel Ortega Casanova and said they are working to identify three others.

The ministry said all participants are Cuban nationals residing in the United States. It alleged that most have known criminal and violent histories and said Sánchez González and Cruz Gómez appear on Cuba’s national list tied to counterterrorism investigations.

Cuban authorities also said they arrested Duniel Hernández Santos inside Cuba and accused him of being sent from the United States to ensure the group’s reception. The ministry said he has confessed, without releasing details.

Libbey Dean, a White House correspondent for NewsNation, reported that the boat involved in the incident is registered to a 65-year-old Cuban-born man in Miami, citing a source who provided the registration information.

According to Dean, law enforcement made contact with the owner, who said the vessel had been docked at a marina in the Florida Keys and reported it stolen after being notified. The owner is not considered a suspect at this time.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said he directed the Office of Statewide Prosecution to work with federal and state partners to begin an investigation, saying the Cuban government “cannot be trusted.”