Two of the men that the Cuban government said were aboard a boat intercepted amid gunfire off Cuba’s coast on Wednesday — including one who was killed — were from Tampa, according to former associates.
Michael Ortega Casanova and Leo Enrique Cruz Gómez were named by Cuban officials as being among 10 passengers on the Florida-registered boat. The Cuban government described the incident as a “terrorist infiltration” in which four people were killed and six others were detained.
Ortega Casanova was one of the men killed, according to the government, while Cruz Gómez — who had been on Cuba’s wanted list for terrorism — was detained.
Both men took part in meetings at Casa Cuba de Tampa, an anti-communist Cuban group, according to Rene Montes de Oca, the group’s vice president.
“Both were always very firm in their convictions and believed that to bring down the Cuban government you had to fight with weapons,” he said. “Personally, I was one of those who warned them many times that it was dangerous and could be a suicide mission.”
Ortega Casanova had been a leader with the Tampa chapter of the Republican Party of Cuba, Montes de Oca said, which met with Casa Cuba once a month to “talk about how to grow the Tampa Republican Party and how to bring in more members.”
Cruz Gómez didn’t come as often, he said.
“Leo liked guns, he liked to go hunting,” Montes de Oca said.
The Cuban government’s terrorism list said Cruz Gómez was wanted for “initiating sabotage activities in the province of Villa Clara,” which led to detention and criminal charges.
Montes de Oca said he considered the men’s views to be “legitimate, even if we had different points of view about possible change in Cuba.”
Lázaro Delgado, a former member of Tampa’s Republican Party of Cuba chapter, said that while Ortega Casanova had talked about owning guns, it was surprising to see him become part of this incident.
“Michele was never an activist in Cuba in the sense of going out into the streets and protesting, risking arrest,” Delgado said. “I never imagined he could get involved in something like that.”
Cuban officials said in an initial statement that the boaters planned to “infiltrate Cuban territory for terrorist purposes.”
The statement said that when a Cuban coast guard vessel with five officers approached the boat to ask for identification, the men opened fire and wounded the vessel’s commander. Cuban officials said they later seized assault rifles, homemade explosives and other tactical gear from the boat.
“Cuba has a duty and responsibility to protect its territorial waters,” Carlos Fernández de Cossío, Cuba’s deputy minister of foreign affairs, said in a statement Thursday afternoon. “Our actions are consistent with international law, which applies to all countries, including the United States itself.”
The boat was reported stolen hours after the incident, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office. A man in Big Pine Key said he found out his boat had been involved in the incident after the Cuban government released its registration number, prompting calls from the media.
U.S. officials have expressed some skepticism about Cuba’s account of the incident, with U.S. Secretary of State Marcio Rubio saying the United States is conducting its own investigation to find out what happened.
“We don’t know a whole lot of details and so I’ll defer to the White House to provide more updates as we get them,” said Vice President JD Vance. “Certainly a situation that we’re monitoring, hopefully it’s not as bad as we fear it could be, but can’t say more because I just don’t know more.”
The situation, Montes de Oca said, has caused “deep shock in the Cuban exile community” throughout Florida.
“We knew Michel directly as an open person, friendly man, someone who showed a lot of kindness and goodness,” he said. “Same with Leo.”
Montes de Oca said Casa Cuba has declared a period of mourning and lowered its flags to half mast.
Information from the Miami Herald was used in this report.