the chaos in mexico

SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica (AP) — Cuban soldiers confronted a speedboat carrying 10 people as the vessel approached the island and opened fire on the troops, who fired back, killing four and wounding six, according to the Cuban government.

The Cuban Ministry of the Interior said the people aboard the boat Wednesday were Cubans living in the U.S. and accused them of trying to infiltrate the country to engage in terrorism. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said it was not a U.S. government operation.

Here’s what to know about the confrontation that has resulted in investigations in both Cuba and the United States and could add to tensions between the two countries. 

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said Thursday that Cuba “does not attack or threaten.”

“We have stated this repeatedly, and we reiterate it today: Cuba will defend itself with determination and firmness against any terrorist or mercenary aggression that seeks to undermine its sovereignty and national stability,” he wrote on X.

Cuban authorities launched an investigation, the foreign minister said.

Rubio said the American government was gathering its own information, including whether the people were U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida said it was pursuing answers “through every legal and diplomatic channel available.”

The wounded people were detained, Cuban officials said, and the government identified seven of the 10 passengers.

Two of them, Amijail Sánchez González and Leordan Enrique Cruz Gómez, are wanted by Cuban authorities “based on their involvement in the promotion, planning, organization, financing, support or commission” of terrorism, the government said.

The others were identified as Conrado Galindo Sariol, José Manuel Rodríguez Castelló, Cristian Ernesto Acosta Guevara and Roberto Álvarez Ávila.

The Cuban government erroneously identified one of the boat passengers late Wednesday as Roberto Azcorra Consuegra, the deputy foreign minister said Thursday.

The government said one of the four killed was Michel Ortega Casanova. His brother Misael Ortega Casanova told The Associated Press that his sibling had developed an “obsessive and diabolical” quest for Cuba’s freedom given the suffering they endured on the island before moving to the U.S. He said his brother was an American citizen who lived in the U.S. for more than 20 years.

Meanwhile, Galindo Sariol, another passenger, was identified as a former political prisoner in a 2025 interview with Martí Noticias, a U.S.-based news site that has long called for a change of government in Cuba.

The Cuban government said it was a Florida-registered speedboat and that officials who searched it found assault rifles, handguns, homemade explosives, bulletproof vests, telescopic sights and camouflage uniforms.

The AP was unable to verify details because boat registrations are not public in Florida.