An American is among those killed on a speedboat in Cuban waters, the White House confirms
American citizens were aboard a stolen speedboat that entered Cuban waters on Wednesday, and at least one American was among the four people. he was killed by a Cuban guard after those on the boat allegedly opened fire on Cuban troops, the White House confirmed to CBS News on Thursday. The news was first reported by Axios.
Four people died and six people on board the boat, who were from Florida, were injured and arrested, according to the Ministry of the Interior of Cuba.
In addition to the American citizen who was killed, an American official confirmed to CBS News that at least one American citizen was among those arrested. At least one of the boat passengers had a K-1 visa, the official said, which allows the citizen’s fiancé to travel to the US to get married, and others are believed to be legal US residents, although it was unclear how many.
According to an official and incident report from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office in Florida, the owner of the boat suspected that the boat had been stolen by an employee.
The boat was one kilometer northeast of the El Pino canal in Cayo Falcones when five members of the Border Guard Troops came to the boat for identification, the Department of the Interior said. People on the boat then started shooting, wounding the captain of the Cuban boat, according to the department.
The Interior Ministry said the 10 people on board the boat were armed with guns, rifles, Molotov cocktails, bulletproof vests, telescopic sights and camouflage uniforms, and were trying to “enter for terrorist purposes.”
The Cuban government identified the four killed as Pavel Alling Peña, Michael Ortega Casanova, Ledián Padrón Guevara and Hector Duani Cruz Correa. The six injured and arrested were identified as Cristian Ernesto Acosta Guevara, Conrado Galindo Sariol, José Manuel Rodríguez Castelló, Leordan Enrique Cruz Gómez, Amijail Sánchez González and Roberto Álvarez Ávila.
Cuba said on Thursday in previous statements that it did not identify one of the men as Rolando Roberto Azcorra Consuegra, who said he was not involved.
The Cuban embassy in the US said on Thursday that the two people who were on the boat, González and Gómez, were wanted by Cuba and included in the lists provided by the American authorities in 2023 and 2025 of people “under criminal investigation and wanted by the Cuban authorities for their involvement in acts of terrorism,” complaining that they were sentenced by the US.
The United States has never publicly identified the boaters or commented on why they were in Cuban waters.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that the US government has no more information than what Cuban authorities have said. He said the Ministry of Security, the Coast Guard and other agencies are investigating the incident.
“We’re going to find out exactly what happened here and we’re going to respond accordingly,” Rubio said.
The Cuban embassy in the US said Thursday on social media, “Since the beginning, and since they found out that the ship came from US territory, the Cuban authorities have continued to communicate about this terrorist attempt with their American counterparts, including the Department of State and the Coast Guard.”
“It is being investigated to clarify the facts in a very strict way,” the ambassador added. “The Cuban government is willing to share information with the United States on this matter. Among other requests, we will ask the US authorities to provide us with information about those involved, the methods used, and other information through the use of existing methods. The US government authorities have shown their willingness to cooperate in clarifying the facts.”
Misael Ortega CasanovaMichael Ortega Casanova’s brother, told the Associated Press that his brother is involved in a “full-blown and corrupt” campaign to overthrow the communist Cuban government. He said his brother is an American citizen who has lived in the US for more than 20 years and has worked as a truck driver.
The boat was allegedly stolen from Big Pine Key, Florida, the property of Angel Walter Montera, who told deputies Wednesday that his 24-foot 1981 Pro-Line boat, registered in Florida as FL7726SH and parked on the property, was missing, according to the incident report. Monera told deputies he never gave anyone permission to use the vessel and believes the former tiler, identified in the report as Hector Duardy Cruz Correa, may have taken it without permission.
President Trump recently put sanctions and new taxes in Cuba, growing tensions between the Caribbean nation and the US Actions followed i the job of holding the former President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro.
