
2 min readUpdated: Feb 26, 2026 12:41 PM IST
Cuba’s government late on Wednesday said 10 people aboard a boat, who opened fire on its soldiers in a bid to infiltrate the island and unleash terrorism, were armed Cubans living in the United States. The government’s announcement came hours after it confirmed killing four people and injuring six others aboard a Florida-registered speed boat that entered Cuban waters and opened fire on its soldiers.
The Cuban government said the majority of the 10 people on board the boat “have a known history of criminal and violent activity”.
In a post on X, the Cuban Embassy in the US said, “On the morning of February 25, 2026, a violating speedboat was detected within Cuban territorial waters. The vessel, registered in Florida, United States, with registration number FL7726SH, approached up to 1 nautical mile northeast of the El Pino channel, in Cayo Falcones, Corralillo municipality, Villa Clara province.”
Note from the Ministry of the Interior:
On the morning of February 25, 2026, a violating speedboat was detected within Cuban territorial waters. The vessel, registered in Florida, United States, with registration number FL7726SH, approached up to 1 nautical mile northeast of the… pic.twitter.com/AEmwtAZ4lO
— Cuban Embassy in US (@EmbaCubaUS) February 25, 2026
“When 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,” the post stated.
US gathering information on the incident, says Rubio
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that he was made aware of the incident and that Washington was gathering information and seeking its own facts about the shooting.
“We’re not going to base our conclusions on what they’ve (Cuba) told us, and I’m very, very confident that we will know the full story of what happened here,” Rubio told reporters.
“As we gather more information, then we’ll be prepared to respond accordingly,” he said.
US Vice-President JD Vance said that the White House was “monitoring” the situation and that “hopefully it’s not as bad as we fear it could be.”
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