{"id":171094,"date":"2026-02-27T05:29:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T05:29:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/171094\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T05:29:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T05:29:14","slug":"tampa-man-killed-in-cuban-boat-shootout-wanted-to-overthrow-islands-government-loved-ones-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/171094\/","title":{"rendered":"Tampa man killed in Cuban boat shootout wanted to overthrow island\u2019s government, loved ones say"},"content":{"rendered":"

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA<\/a>) \u2014 The family and friends of Michel Ortega Casanova said he was one of four men killed in an armed confrontation<\/a> off the Cuban Coast.<\/p>\n

The Cuban government claims 10 men were on a boat registered in Florida that tried to invade their coast.<\/p>\n

The Cubans said they intercepted the boat and a shootout resulted. Four men on the boat were killed while six others were wounded and taken into custody.<\/p>\n

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is also Cuban American, said the U.S. government is conducting their own investigation into the incident because it does not trust the Cuban version of events.<\/p>\n

Thursday, the Cuban Ministry of the Interior identified the individuals as:<\/p>\n

Cristian Ernesto Acosta Guevara<\/p>\n

Jos\u00e9 Manuel Rodr\u00edguez Castell\u00f3<\/p>\n

Leord\u00e1n Cruz Gomez of Tampa<\/p>\n

Michael Ortega Casanova of Tampa<\/p>\n

The last four people on the list were said to be deceased. The others are in Cuban custody.<\/p>\n

According to the Cuban government, weapons were found on the boat, including \u201cassault rifles, sniper rifles, pistols, Molotov cocktails, multiple assault equipment including night vision equipment, bulletproof vests, assault bayonets, camouflage clothing, ammunition of various calibers, food for combat use, means of communication, and a large number of monograms of counterrevolutionary terrorist organizations.\u201d<\/p>\n

The statement continued:<\/p>\n

\u201cRight from the start, Cuban authorities have been in touch with their U.S. counterparts, including the State Department and the Coast Guard, about this terrorist attempt. An investigation is underway to clarify the facts with the utmost rigor. The Cuban government is willing to exchange information with the US government on this matter. Among other requirements, we will request information on those involved, the means used, and other details from the US authorities through the mechanisms in place between the two countries.\u201d<\/p>\n

The U.S. government is not confirming any of this information.<\/p>\n

Angela Chaviano with Casa Cuba in Tampa said Michel Ortega Casanova was a member of their organization and visited just last week.<\/p>\n

\u201cMichel is a great friend, great, is like a brother, and it was very painful for me to know that he was one of the ones deceased,\u201d Chaviano said.<\/p>\n

According to The Associated Press<\/a>, Michel\u2019s brother, Misael Ortega Casanova, said his brother had fallen into an \u201cobsessive and diabolical\u201d quest to overthrow the Cuban government. He lived in the U.S. for over 20 years and became a citizen.<\/p>\n

Misael Ortega Casanova said his brother worked as a trucker and is survived by his wife, his mother, two sisters, and a daughter who is pregnant.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one knew,\u201d Misael Ortega Casanova said. \u201cMy mother is devastated.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey became so obsessed that they didn\u2019t think about the consequences nor their own lives,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Chaviano said Michel Ortega Casanova hoped to overthrow the Cuban Government and tried to recruit others to join him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that he was always saying that the only way to make a change was through arms, was through force and not just by talking,\u201d Chaviano said.<\/p>\n

She said Leordan Enrique Cruz G\u00f3mez was also on the boat from Florida and was wounded in the exchange of gunfire.<\/p>\n

Tampa attorney Ralph Fernandez has long fought for Cuban political prisoners.<\/p>\n

\u201cTampa is deeply penetrated with Cuban intelligence, meaning they have actual intelligence officers in the network and agents in place in the network,\u201d Fernandez said.<\/p>\n

He said the Cuban government knew when and where to expect Michel Ortega Casanova\u2019s boat and that they were armed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ll be able to determine why there was a Cuban gunboat waiting for them in a region where they don\u2019t service that coastline,\u201d Fernandez said. They don\u2019t have the fuel or the manpower to service that coastline.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the Monroe County Sheriff\u2019s Office, the boat was reported stolen by a resident who said he saw his boat\u2019s registration numbers being reported by Cuban media.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) \u2014 The family and friends of Michel Ortega Casanova said he was one of four…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":171095,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[14036,81396,63045,81395,80754,80756,14785,135,137,136],"class_list":{"0":"post-171094","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa","8":"tag-assault-rifles","9":"tag-cuban-american","10":"tag-cuban-government","11":"tag-cuban-ministry-of-the-interior","12":"tag-michel-ortega-casanova","13":"tag-misael-ortega-casanova","14":"tag-secretary-of-state-marco-rubio","15":"tag-tampa","16":"tag-tampa-headlines","17":"tag-tampa-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=171094"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171094\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/171095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=171094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=171094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=171094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}