Officials of one of the passengers killed in the attempted attack said the suspect was seeking to overthrow the Cuban government.
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Cuban authorities have accused 10 men aboard a speedboat sailing from the United States of attempting to carry out a violent operation to destabilize the island’s government.
This week, four of the 10 people on the boat were killed in a gunfight with Cuban border officials.
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On Thursday, Cuban authorities confirmed that the remaining six crew members were being treated for their injuries. At least one Cuban officer was also injured in the shooting.
CBS News also reported that at least one American was among the dead, citing White House officials.
Still, Cuban officials defended the government’s response, insisting that passengers on the speedboat were the first to fire at the border agents.
“Cuba will defend itself with determination and resoluteness against any terrorist or mercenary aggression that seeks to affect its sovereignty and national stability,” Cuban President Manuel Diaz-Canel said in a social media post.
The incident comes at a time of heightened tensions between Cuba and the United States, which has repeatedly threatened the island’s communist government.
President Donald Trump’s administration has also stepped up measures designed to worsen the country’s economic situation, including imposing a fuel blockade on Cuba at the end of January.
Of the four people killed, only one, Michel Ortega Casanova, has been identified by the Cuban government so far.
One of Casanova’s colleagues told AFP news agency that Casanova was seeking to overthrow the Havana government.
“His goal was to fight criminal and murderous drug lords.” [government]We want to see if it inspires people to rise up,” said Wilfredo Beira, head of the Cuban Republican Party in Tampa.
Casanova’s family said they did not know about his plan, but that he was motivated by the “great suffering” people suffered under the Cuban government.
“No one knew,” said his brother, Misrael Ortega Casanova. “My mother is devastated.”
He acknowledged that his brother is part of a group concerned about rights violations on the island.
“They got so caught up in it that they stopped thinking about the consequences and their lives,” Misrael added.
U.S. officials said they would investigate the incident and denied government involvement. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. embassy in Havana was seeking further details, including whether any Americans were among the detainees.
“There are various elements of the U.S. government, and we are trying to identify elements of the story that may not currently be provided,” he said.
The United States has previously worked with Cuban exiles against the country’s government, including supporting campaigns of covert infiltration, violence, and sabotage.
But activist groups in South Florida have also started their own operations, some operating small speedboats and planes to transport Cuban nationals.
Cuban authorities are using the U.S. intervention as a pretext for the country’s harsh restrictions on political opposition and a series of security measures that human rights groups have used against critics.
Cuban authorities have identified some of this week’s speedboat passengers as Conrado Galindo Saliol, Jose Manuel Rodríguez Castello and Cristian Ernesto Acosta Guevara. Many more remain to be identified.
The Cuban government also said some of the passengers were wanted by law enforcement “for involvement in the promotion, planning, organization, financing, support, or execution of activities carried out within the country or in other countries in connection with acts of terrorism.”
However, members of the Cuban-American community have expressed skepticism about the Cuban government’s claims.
“Nobody in an 8-foot speedboat is going to overthrow the government,” Cuban exile Emilio Izquierdo told The Associated Press.
