{"id":319003,"date":"2026-02-26T22:07:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T22:07:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/319003\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T22:07:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T22:07:07","slug":"us-wont-rely-on-cubas-version-of-events-after-four-shot-dead-on-florida-registered-boat-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/319003\/","title":{"rendered":"US won\u2019t rely on Cuba\u2019s version of events after four shot dead on Florida-registered boat \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

US secretary of state Marco Rubio<\/a> has said the US will launch an investigation after Cuba<\/a> reported its forces killed four people and wounded six when a Florida-registered speedboat crossed into Cuban waters.<\/p>\n

Rubio said Cuban authorities on Wednesday informed the US that its soldiers shot those on board after the passengers opened fire on them.<\/p>\n

The shootout comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and Havana in the aftermath of the US\u2019s capture of former Venezuelan<\/a> president Nicolas Maduro<\/a>, whose regime supported Cuba with oil.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to have our own information on this and we\u2019re going to figure out exactly what happened,\u201d Rubio told reporters in Saint Kitts and Nevis, adding that the US would not rely solely on Cuba\u2019s version of events.<\/p>\n

He declined to speculate about what transpired but said there was \u201ca wide range\u201d of potential explanations, adding: \u201cSuffice to say, it is highly unusual to see shoot-outs at open sea like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The US Coast Guard has responded to the area off the coast of Cuba where the incident took place.<\/p>\n

The Cuban interior ministry said in a statement later on Wednesday that the \u201c10 armed persons\u201d, all of whom were Cuban residents in the US, had been attempting to carry out a \u201cterrorist infiltration\u201d plot when they were intercepted.<\/p>\n

When five Cuban troops approached the boat, the crew on the Florida-registered vessel opened fire and injured a soldier.<\/p>\n

\u201cAssault rifles, handguns, improvised explosive devices (Molotov cocktails), bulletproof vests, telescopic sights and camouflage uniforms were seized,\u201d the ministry said. Alongside the six people captured onboard the vessel, the ministry also said a Cuban national who had been \u201csent from the United States to guarantee the arrival of the armed infiltration\u201d had been arrested in the country.<\/p>\n

Cuban president Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel said on Thursday: \u201cCuba does not attack or threaten\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009Cuba will defend its sovereignty and national stability with determination and firmness against any terrorist or mercenary aggression.\u201d<\/p>\n

As tensions rise with the US, Rubio said Cuba\u2019s \u201cstatus quo is unsustainable\u201d and that the country \u201cneeds to change dramatically\u201d.<\/p>\n

Earlier in the day, the US said it would allow Venezuelan oil to be resold to Cuba through private-sector intermediaries, providing a lifeline to the Caribbean island amid a desperate fuel shortage and humanitarian crisis.<\/p>\n

The US treasury department\u2019s sanctions-enforcement body, the Office of Foreign Assets Control, said it would approve applications from third parties to resell Venezuelan crude and refined products to Cuba via the nation\u2019s fledgling private sector.<\/p>\n

Since Maduro\u2019s capture, Washington has taken control of Venezuelan oil sales.<\/p>\n

Cuba, which produces only enough fuel to meet 40 per cent of national demand, is grappling with severe shortages, leaving power plants and home generators idle amid a deepening humanitarian crisis.<\/p>\n

Hospitals have reduced operations in recent weeks as disease and hunger surges, while drivers queue for hours in the hope of filling their tanks. Blackouts are a daily reality across much of the island and airlines, deprived of jet fuel, have grounded flights.<\/p>\n

A decline in tourism and agriculture, alongside several countries scrapping their contracts with Cuban doctors, has aggravated the crisis, depriving Havana of foreign exchange to pay for imports.<\/p>\n

In response to the crisis, Havana, which has long controlled the oil trade along with much of the economy, this month allowed private businesses to import fuel. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"US secretary of state Marco Rubio has said the US will launch an investigation after Cuba reported its…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":319004,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[23169,42,43,40,38,41,39,115],"class_list":{"0":"post-319003","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-cuba","9":"tag-headlines","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-top-news","12":"tag-top-stories","13":"tag-topnews","14":"tag-topstories","15":"tag-united-states"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=319003"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319003\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/319004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=319003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=319003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=319003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}