Cuba's coast guard reported Wednesday that it shot and killed four individuals and wounded six others aboard a US-registered speedboat during a confrontation near its shores. The incident has created new friction with Washington.
Havana has not disclosed the nationalities of the passengers on the Florida-registered vessel or their reasons for approaching the communist island, which operates under stringent US sanctions.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that Washington is independently investigating the shooting and will respond based on its findings. "We're not going to base our conclusions on what they've (Cuba) told us," Rubio told reporters, adding that the full story is expected to emerge.
Florida's Attorney General has launched an investigation into the killings. Cuba's interior ministry claims the coast guard encountered the vessel, identified as FL7726SH, one nautical mile off Cayo Falcones island. The ministry alleges that shots were fired from the speedboat, injuring the Cuban commander, before the fatal exchange occurred.
These incursions are often linked to people-smuggling and drug trafficking. Recent years have seen a significant exodus from Cuba due to shortages of food, medicine, and daily blackouts, with many migrating to Florida.
The shootings occur as the US reviews its oil sanctions policy towards Cuba. Washington had previously imposed restrictions following the ouster of a key Cuban ally in Venezuela. The US Treasury Department indicated that Venezuelan oil shipments, if permitted, would need to go through private businesses, not the Cuban government or military.