Rubio says the US will respond “accordingly” after Cuba’s attack on a civilian boat

“I’m not going to speculate or give an opinion; I want to know what happened. We’re going to find out exactly what happened and we will respond as appropriate“he declared to the press during a summit of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) held in Saint Kitts and Nevis.

The Cuban Ministry of the Interior assured that the ten occupants of the speedboat from the United States intercepted in its territorial waters “intended to carry out a infiltration for terrorist purposes”.

Cuba indicated that all the injured are Cubans residing in the US. In addition, he reported the seizure of “assault rifles, short weaponshand-made explosive devices (Molotov cocktails), bulletproof vests, telescopic sights and camouflage uniforms”.

Rubio pointed out that all the data known so far comes from the Cuban authorities and affirmed that the Donald Trump Administration wants to verify what happened through “independent information”.

The head of US diplomacy denied having held conversations with the Cuban Government on this matter and ruled out the involvement of US Government personnel in the shooting.

He stated that the US embassy in Havana has requested access to the survivors of the boatpresumably American citizens, to find out their situation.

Identification of “terrorists”

Among the injured, according to the Cuban Ministry of the Interior, are Amijail Sánchez González y Leordan Enrique Cruz Gómezwhich the Government of Havana had already included in its terrorist list for previously preparing attacks.

They also identified Conrado Galindo Sariol, José Manuel Rodríguez Castelló, Cristian Ernesto Acosta Guevara y Roberto Azcorra Consuegra.

Furthermore, Cuban authorities identified Michel Ortega Casanovaanother Cuban resident in the United States, as one of the four deceased, while investigations into the identity of the other three continue.

Likewise, it reported “detention in the national territory of the citizen Duniel Hernandez Santossent from the United States to guarantee the reception of the armed infiltration, who is currently confessing to his actions.”

The incident occurred while Washington is suffocating the battered island’s economy by blocking virtually all oil shipments and increasing pressure on the communist government.

The speedboat approached within a nautical mile of a canal in Cayo Falcones, on Cuba’s northern coast, about 200 km east of Havana, when it was boarded by five members of a Cuban border patrol unit. According to the authorities, the boat fired first, injuring the commander of his ship.