Cuban regime kills four crew members on US speedboat
Six other people who were on the boat were wounded in the shooting.
A reference image of tankers in the port of Matanzas, Cuba
The Cuban regime reported that security forces on the island killed four crew members and wounded six others after an armed confrontation with a speedboat registered in the United States which, according to the official version, entered Cuban territorial waters.
According to a note released by the Cuban embassy in Washington and attributed to the Cuban Ministry of the Interior, the vessel -registered in Florida with registration FL7726SH - was detected in the morning in Cuban waters, approaching up to one nautical mile northeast of the El Pino channel, in Cayo Falcones, municipality of Corralillo, province of Villa Clara.
The official version of the Castro regime
After briefly recounting the characteristics of the U.S. vessel and the location of the confrontation, the Cuban regime described its official account, explaining that before opening fire there was an approach to the speedboat.
"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 Cuban statement described.
"As a consequence of the confrontation, as of the time of this report, four aggressors on the foreign vessel were killed and six were injured. The injured individuals were evacuated and received medical assistance," they added. "Investigations by the competent authorities continue in order to fully clarify the events."
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Ongoing investigation, awaiting U.S. response
In the statement, the Cuban regime reaffirmed its determination to "protect its territorial waters" at a time when Washington is putting pressure on leftist regimes in the region. Last month, in early January, U.S. forces stormed Caracas, Venezuela to capture then-dictator Nicolas Maduro.
At the time of publishing this article, no official reaction from the U.S. government has been reported.
News in development.
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