Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that the United States will seek answers following a deadly shootout involving Cuban border forces and a Florida-registered speedboat that left four people dead and six others injured, as reported by The New York Post.

Speaking while traveling to Saint Kitts and Nevis, Rubio addressed reports that Cuban authorities opened fire on a vessel that had entered Cuban territorial waters.

“We’re going to find out exactly what happened and then we will respond accordingly,” Rubio said.

Image Credit: Daniel Hernandez-Salazar - Shutterstock.com
Guatemala City, Guatemala. 02-05-25. USA Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks at a press conference after meeting with President Bernardo Arevalo.

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He added that the incident was out of the ordinary.

“It is highly unusual to see shootouts in the open sea like that. That’s not something that happens every day,” he said.

Cuba’s Ministry of the Interior said in a social media post that its border troops were protecting “its territorial waters” when the confrontation occurred. According to Cuban officials, the crew aboard the Florida-registered boat opened fire first.

Cuba’s government said that, on Wednesday morning, the crew on the speedboat “opened fire on the Cuban personnel, resulting in the injury of the commander of the Cuban vessel.”

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Cuban border guards returned fire.

“Four aggressors on the foreign vessel were killed, and six were injured. The injured individuals were evacuated and received medical assistance,” the Interior Ministry said.

It remains unclear who owned the vessel or whether any Americans were on board. An official told The New York Times that the firefight involved a U.S. civilian boat working to get relatives out of Cuba.

The official added that the vessel was not a U.S. Naval or Coast Guard boat.

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Rubio confirmed the boat was not part of a U.S. government operation and indicated that the United States would not rely solely on Cuba’s account of the events.

“We’re not gonna base our conclusions on what they told us,” Rubio said, adding, “We’ll respond appropriately based on what our information tells us.”

Vice President JD Vance also commented on the situation during an event at the White House.

“Hopefully, it’s not as bad as we fear it could be, but I can’t say more because I just don’t know more,” Vance told reporters.

The vessel involved in the incident carries registration number FL7726SH. Maritime database records identify it as a 24-foot power boat manufactured in 1981.

Cuba has launched an investigation into the confrontation.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced that his office would also investigate the incident.

“I’ve directed the Office of Statewide Prosecution to work with our federal, state, and law enforcement partners to begin an investigation,” Uthmeier said in a statement on X.

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“The Cuban government cannot be trusted, and we will do everything in our power to hold these communists accountable.”

Florida Congressman Carlos Gimenez, who represents Miami-Dade, described the incident as a “massacre” and called for an end to Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel’s leadership.

“This regime must be relegated to the dust bin of history!” Gimenez said in a statement.

Federal and state officials have not released additional details about the identities of those killed or injured. Both U.S. and Cuban authorities are continuing their respective investigations into the circumstances surrounding the exchange of gunfire.

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