{"id":83852,"date":"2026-02-26T15:04:40","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T21:04:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greaterbelize.com\/?p=83852"},"modified":"2026-02-26T15:04:40","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T21:04:40","slug":"cuba-says-armed-group-on-u-s-registered-speedboat-planned-terrorist-infiltration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greaterbelize.com\/cuba-says-armed-group-on-u-s-registered-speedboat-planned-terrorist-infiltration\/","title":{"rendered":"Cuba Says Armed Group on U.S.-Registered Speedboat Planned \u2018Terrorist Infiltration\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cuba says it thwarted what it described as an armed<\/a> infiltration attempt after border guards intercepted a U.S.-registered speedboat off the island\u2019s northern coast, killing four people and injuring six others.<\/p>\n

In a statement, Cuba\u2019s Interior Ministry said the vessel entered Cuban territorial waters and was about one nautical mile off Cayo Falcones when it was stopped on Wednesday. Authorities allege the group aboard the Florida-registered boat opened fire first, sparking a gun battle in which a Cuban officer was wounded.<\/p>\n

Cuban officials claim the 10 people on board were Cuban nationals residing in the United States and were planning \u201can infiltration with terrorist aims.\u201d Weapons recovered from the boat allegedly included handguns, assault rifles, improvised explosive devices and other tactical gear.<\/p>\n

An additional suspect has reportedly been detained and confessed, according to Cuban authorities.<\/p>\n

President Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel said Cuba would defend itself \u201cwith determination and firmness against any terrorist and mercenary aggression against its sovereignty and national stability.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Sponsored<\/a>

Sponsored by RF&G<\/p><\/div>\n

From St. Kitts and Nevis, where he was attending meetings with Caribbean leaders, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the incident as \u201chighly unusual\u201d and said Washington would independently verify the facts rather than rely solely on Cuban government accounts.<\/p>\n

Rubio noted that the vessel was not carrying U.S. government personnel.<\/a> He added that the United States would investigate what those aboard were doing in Cuban waters.<\/p>\n

Rubio, whose parents emigrated from Cuba, has been a vocal critic of Havana\u2019s Communist government. On Wednesday, he reiterated that \u201cCuba\u2019s status quo is unacceptable\u201d and called for \u201cdramatic reforms\u201d that would open space for economic and political freedoms.<\/p>\n

The shooting comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and Havana. Just weeks ago, U.S. forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, a key ally of Cuba, and blocked oil shipments from Venezuela to the island, worsening Cuba\u2019s already severe fuel shortages.<\/p>\n

U.S. President Donald Trump has warned Cuba to \u201cmake a deal\u201d or face consequences, while tightening pressure on the island\u2019s leadership. However, on Wednesday the U.S. Treasury Department said it would ease certain small private-sector transactions, including some oil sales, aimed at supporting the Cuban people for commercial and humanitarian purposes.<\/p>\n

Cuba\u2019s Interior Ministry framed the incident within this broader context, stating that \u201cin the face of current challenges, Cuba reaffirms its determination to protect its territorial waters\u201d and defend its sovereignty.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cuba says it thwarted what it described as an armed infiltration attempt after border guards intercepted a U.S.-registered speedboat off the island\u2019s northern coast, killing four people and injuring six others. In a statement, Cuba\u2019s Interior Ministry said the vessel entered Cuban territorial waters and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":83860,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[484,444,475,523],"tags":[11054],"class_list":["post-83852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","category-latest-news","category-news","category-regional-international","tag-cuba-says-armed-group-on-u-s-registered-speedboat-planned-terrorist-infiltration"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greaterbelize.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greaterbelize.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greaterbelize.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greaterbelize.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greaterbelize.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83852"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.greaterbelize.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83852\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83861,"href":"https:\/\/www.greaterbelize.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83852\/revisions\/83861"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greaterbelize.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/83860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greaterbelize.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greaterbelize.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greaterbelize.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}