Cuba says boat from Florida opened fire at its soldiers, starting fight that killed 4

The Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Cuba said the boat registered in Florida approached to within a nautical mile of the El Pino channel, in Cayo Falcones, municipality of Corralillo, Villa Clara province.

Four people were killed and seven were injured in a confrontation involving people on a boat registered in Florida and Cuban Border Guard Troops on Wednesday, the Cuban government said.

The government said late Wednesday that the 10 passengers on the boat were armed Cubans living in the U.S. who were trying to infiltrate the island and unleash terrorism.

The Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Cuba said the boat registered in Florida approached to within a nautical mile of the El Pino channel, in Cayo Falcones, municipality of Corralillo, Villa Clara province.

Border Guard Troops approached and the crew of the boat opened fire, wounding the commander of the Cuban vessel, the government agency said.

Four people on the boat were killed and six were injured as a result of the confrontation, the agency said.

The people injured were "evacuated and received medical assistance," the government said.

Cuba’s government said the majority of the 10 people on the boat “have a known history of criminal and violent activity.”

It identified two of them as Amijail Sánchez González and Leordan Enrique Cruz Gómez, who are wanted by Cuban authorities “based on their involvement in the promotion, planning, organization, financing, support or commission of actions carried out in the national territory or in other countries, in connection with acts of terrorism.”

The government said it also had arrested Duniel Hernández Santos, adding that he was “sent from the United States to guarantee the reception of the armed infiltration, who at this time has confessed to his actions.”

Cuba’s government said it obtained the details about the passengers aboard the boat from the suspects detained following the shootout.

It identified seven of the 10 passengers, including Conrado Galindo Sariol, José Manuel Rodríguez Castelló, Cristian Ernesto Acosta Guevara and Roberto Azcorra Consuegra. Cuba's government said that one of the four killed was Michel Ortega Casanova. Three others have not yet been identified.

“The investigation process continues until the facts are fully clarified,” the ministry said in a statement.

The registration number for the boat given by the Cuban government showed it was a 24-foot center console fishing vessel.

The man who allegedly owns the boat involved in the shootout owns a home in Miami Lakes, records showed.

At the home later Wednesday, an NBC6 reporter was there when two people who identified themselves as an FBI agent approached the front door and spoke with a family member through a doorbell camera.

NBC6 has attempted to reach family members connected with the home and have not heard back yet.

South Florida Congressman Rep. Carlos Gimenez reacted to the news on X Wednesday afternoon.

"The dictatorship in #Cuba has just attacked a boat from Florida & murdered those on board. This regime must be relegated to the dustbin of history!" Gimenez posted.

In a statement, Gimenez later called for an investigation into the incident.

"I am calling for an immediate investigation into this massacre. United States authorities must determine whether any of the victims were U.S. citizens or legal residents and establish exactly what occurred," Gimenez said.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said he was working to launch an investigation.

"I’ve directed the Office of Statewide Prosecution to work with our federal, state, and law enforcement partners to begin an investigation. The Cuban government cannot be trusted, and we will do everything in our power to hold these communists accountable," Uthmeier posted on X.

Vice President J.D. Vance said he'd been briefed on the incident by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and said they're monitoring the situation and waiting for more details.

"Hopefully it's not as bad as we fear it could be," Vance said.

Rubio said later Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies are looking into what happened.

"The majority of the information we still possess is what Cuban authorities are providing both the public and the U.S. government," Rubio said. "We have our embassy on the ground in Havana working this as we speak, asking for access to the people that were on those vessels, if they were American citizens or permanent residents."

Rubio confirmed the people on the boat weren't with the U.S. government and that he wasn’t "going to speculate about whose boat it was, what they were doing, why they were there, what actually happened.”

"Suffice it to say it is highly unusual to see shootouts in open sea like that, it's not something that happens every day, it's something frankly that hasn't happened with Cuba in a very long time," Rubio said.

Check back for updates.