Cuban coast guard ships docked at the port of Havana on February 25, 2026. ADALBERTO ROQUE / AFP
Cuba's coast guard said Wednesday, February 25, it shot dead four people and wounded six others traveling in a US-registered speedboat during an exchange of fire near Cuba's shores that came amid heightened tensions with Washington.
Havana did not reveal the nationalities of the passengers aboard the Florida-registered boat nor why it was approaching the communist-run island, which is under strict US sanctions.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was seeking its own facts about the shooting and would "respond accordingly."
"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 while on a trip to the Caribbean nation of St Kitts and Nevis. "As we gather more information, then we'll be prepared to respond accordingly."
