Cuba’s coastguard shot and killed four people and injured six others who were traveling in a U.S.-registered speedboat during an exchange of gunfire off the Cuban coast on Wednesday, according to the Interior Ministry in Havana.
The Florida-registered boat was detected approximately one nautical mile from Falcones Cay in Villa Clara province, the ministry said in a statement.
According to the ministry, shots were fired from the speedboat as a coastguard vessel approached to identify it, resulting in injuries to the commander of the Cuban vessel.
The ministry stated that four people aboard the foreign vessel were killed and six were wounded. The injured were evacuated and received medical treatment.
Cuban authorities said they remain committed to protecting the country’s territorial waters.
The incident occurred amid ongoing tensions between Cuba and the United States, separated by about 100 miles (160 kilometers) across the Florida Straits.
