HAVANA (AP) — Cuba’s deputy foreign minister, Carlos Fernández de Cossío, said Thursday that the island’s government is communicating with U.S. officials following the fatal shooting of a U.S. boat in Cuban waters.
He said the Cuban government is willing to exchange information with U.S. officials, adding that Cuba plans to ask them for information on the suspects involved and what means they used to organize the trip.
Cossío added that the U.S. government has shown willingness “to cooperate in clarifying the facts.”
Cuba’s Ministry of the Interior said that on Wednesday morning, a Florida-registered speedboat carrying 10 armed Cubans from the U.S. opened fire on soldiers off the island’s north coast, and that troops responded, killing four suspects and injuring six others. One Cuban official also was injured, the government said.
A U.S. official said Thursday that at least one American citizen was killed and another wounded in the incident.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the ongoing investigation into Wednesday’s firefight, said another member of the 10-person crew was in the U.S. on a visa and several others may have been green card holders.
The official said the owner of the boat has alleged that it was stolen by one of his employees.
Cuba’s government has released a list with the names of the alleged suspects and accused them of planning to invade the island and unleash terrorism.
Cossío said authorities found assault and sniper rifles, pistols, night vision equipment, bayonets, camouflage clothing, combat rations, communication equipment “and a large number of insignia from counterrevolutionary terrorist organizations.”
He added: “This information is still preliminary. More details will be provided in the coming days.”
On Wednesday evening, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Coast Guard are investigating the incident.
“The majority of the facts being publicly reported are those by the information provided by the Cubans. We will verify that independently as we gather more information, and we’ll be prepared to respond accordingly,” Rubio said.
Cossío noted that Cuban authorities have regularly provided the U.S. with information on people he asserted “have been involved in promoting, financing, and organizing violent and terrorist acts against Cuba.”
He noted that two of the boat passengers detained were on that list “and enjoyed impunity within U.S. territory.”
“The Cuban government is still awaiting responses to requests for information about them and the other individuals and organizations included in the list issued,” Cossío said.
He did not take questions from journalists at the press briefing.
Meanwhile, across Havana and beyond, the streets were abuzz with opinions over what had happened.
“What the hell,” said 88-year-old street musician Efraín Scotland of the alleged attempt of 10 people to invade the island. “No, my friend, no, that’s not going to bring down a nation.”
Some, like 48-year-old construction worker Roberto Henry Figueredo, praised the way Cuba defended itself.
“That hail of bullets that we unleashed was good,” he said, adding that if it were to happen again, Cubans would withstand the attack. “If they fire at us, we’re going to eat those bullets.”
People in Cuba and beyond awaited more information about the motive behind the alleged attempted boat trip to the Caribbean island.
Cuban political scientist Rafael M. Hernández told reporters in an online briefing Thursday that many questions remain unanswered: “What were they doing? What were they looking for? Were they starting a liberation movement in Cuba? Were they trying to sabotage the Cuban economy?”
He described the alleged operation as “silly and counterproductive.”
However, some worried that the shooting could worsen an already frayed relationship between Cuba and the United States, which has tightened sanctions.
Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump also threatened to impose a tariff on any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba, which depended heavily on petroleum from Venezuela. But those shipments were halted after the U.S. attacked the South American country and arrested its then-leader.
Cuba has since imposed severe fuel-saving measures.
“I expect things to get more tense,” said 54-year-old Havana resident Rosa Larrondo, who described Wednesday’s shooting as “a violation of the sovereignty of the Cuban people.”
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Coto reported from San José, Costa Rica. Associated Press diplomatic writer Matthew Lee in Washington, D.C. contributed.
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