Four people who entered Cuban waters on a US-registered speedboat have been shot dead by border guards, Cuba’s government has said.
Cuba’s interior ministry said that the speedboat’s passengers opened fire on a coast guard vessel that approached them. Six other passengers were wounded in the incident, which took place near an island on Cuba’s northern coast.
The identities of those on board the vessel are not clear, nor what it was doing in the area. The Cuban government says an investigation has been launched to "clarify" events.
Cuba said that when its boat carrying five border guards approached the vessel for identification, "the crew of the violating speedboat opened fire" and wounded the Cuban commander. "As a consequence of the confrontation, as of the time of this report, four aggressors on the foreign vessel were killed and six injured."
Florida Congressman Carlos Gimenez, a Cuban-American former mayor of Miami, said he would demand an investigation into what he called a "massacre". He said that US authorities "must determine whether any of the victims were US citizens or legal residents".
There have been growing tensions between the US and Cuba, which is facing a fuel crisis that has been worsened by the US blocking oil shipments from Venezuela, a long-standing ally in the region. The incident comes as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets Caribbean leaders in Saint Kitts and Nevis, as the Trump administration seeks to ramp up pressure on Cuba’s government.
Clive Myrie presents BBC News at Ten reporting by Sarah Smith in Washington.
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