(Bloomberg) — Cuban forces killed four people and wounded six others who were traveling in a speedboat with Florida tags after they opened fire on the island’s border patrol, the government said.
The vessel approached within one nautical mile off the coast of Villa Clara on Wednesday morning, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. When security forces approached to identify the passengers, the occupants opened fire, injuring the commander of the military vessel.
US and Cuban tensions are running high as Donald Trump’s administration has effectively imposed a naval blockade on the communist-run island, and dramatically reduced its access to fuel. The president has also mused about the collapse of the six-decade-old regime.
“Faced with current challenges, Cuba reaffirms its commitment to protecting its territorial waters, based on the principle that national defense is a fundamental pillar of the Cuban state,” the ministry said. The wounded passengers are being provided with medical care.
The US State Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump had appeared to be providing some relief for Cuba as recently as Tuesday, when the government signaled it would allow fuel imports for private businesses on the island.
At the same time, the Trump administration has been pressuring other nations to stop the use of Cuban health workers, which generates much-needed hard currency for the cash-strapped island, particularly now that its tourism industry has taken a hit.
Cuba has been a one-party state ever since the 1959 revolution led by Fidel Castro toppled a US-backed dictator. The Caribbean nation of about 10 million relied on support from the Soviet Union until its collapse in 1991, and had until recently been relying on subsidized Venezuelan oil to meet its energy needs.
(Updates with additional context beginning in fifth paragraph. Previous versions corrected the timing of the incident in the second and the spelling of State Department in the fifth.)
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