\u201cAssault rifles, handguns, improvised explosive devices (Molotov cocktails), bulletproof vests, telescopic sights, and camouflage uniforms were seized,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
The ministry said<\/a> that the incursion happened Wednesday morning and that a commander of the Cuban border guard was injured, in addition to six people on the U.S. boat. <\/p>\n All members of the group were \u201cCuban residents of the United States,\u201d according to the ministry.<\/p>\n On Thursday, Cuban president Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel said in a statement posted on X <\/a>that it will defend itself against any \u201cterrorist and mercenary aggression that seeks to undermine its sovereignty and national stability.\u201d <\/p>\n Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier Wednesday the U.S. would carry out an independent investigation before it responded.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to find out exactly what happened here, and then we\u2019ll respond accordingly,\u201d Rubio said from St. Kitts and Nevis, where he was attending a conference with Caribbean leaders.<\/p>\n Rubio added that a shootout in the open sea was “highly unusual” and that the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Coast Guard were both investigating. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not something that happens every day. It\u2019s something, frankly, that hasn\u2019t happened with Cuba in a very long time,\u201d Rubio said.<\/p>\n The Cuban ministry said the people on the U.S.-registered vessel initiated the firefight, which took place 1 nautical mile northeast of El Pino channel off Cuba\u2019s north coast.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen a surface unit of the Border Guard Troops of the Ministry of the Interior, carrying five service members, approached the vessel for identification, the crew of the violating speedboat opened fire on the Cuban personnel, resulting in the injury of the commander of the Cuban vessel,\u201d the ministry said. <\/p>\n The government department named one of the people killed as Michel Ortega Casanova. He fell into an “obsessive and diabolical” quest for Cuba\u2019s freedom, his brother, Misael Ortega Casanova, told The Associated Press. <\/p>\n He said his brother was a truck driver and an American citizen who had lived in the U.S. for 20 years and was married. “Only us Cubans who have lived over there understand,” he said. <\/p>\n The ministry also listed the names of the six people who it said had been detained. It said most have criminal histories. <\/p>\n The injured people were evacuated and received medical assistance, according to the statement. <\/p>\n Rubio said most of the information the U.S. has about what happened “is what Cuban authorities are providing both the public and the U.S. government.”<\/p>\n The Cuban border guard alerted the U.S. to the incident Wednesday morning, and Rubio was notified at that time, he said. <\/p>\n Asked whether any U.S. personnel were involved in the incident, Rubio replied, \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n Tensions between the U.S. and Cuba have heightened over the Trump administration\u2019s restriction of oil shipments to Cuba<\/a>, especially from Venezuela, though the U.S. announced Wednesday it would allow some sales to Cuba\u2019s private sector<\/a>. <\/p>\n Several Florida officials have called for an investigation into the incident.<\/p>\n![\"Cuba's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/260226-cuba-coast-guard-mb-1338-f8b33b.jpg\")
Cuban coast guard ships docked at the port of Havana on Wednesday.Adalberto Roque \/ AFP – Getty Images<\/p>\n