Florida Launches Investigation into Deadly Cuban Incident Involving U.S. Speedboat

The State of Florida has initiated a comprehensive investigation following the Cuban government’s announcement that it killed several people aboard a U.S.-flagged speedboat near the island’s northern shore on Tuesday.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced that his office is examining the situation, expressing skepticism about Havana’s version of events. “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. “The Cuban government cannot be trusted, and we will do everything in our power to hold these communists accountable.”

The incident first came to light when Representative Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., reported that the Cuban Interior Ministry claimed to have confronted a speedboat with a Florida license number, alleging that its occupants fired first.

According to Cuban authorities, the confrontation occurred Tuesday morning when a “violating speedboat” was detected within one nautical mile of Falcon Key’s El Pino channel in Villa Clara province—an area relatively close to Marathon in the Florida Keys. The Cuban government claims that when Border Guardsmen approached the vessel requesting identification, the speedboat’s crew opened fire.

“As a consequence of the confrontation, as of the time of this report, four aggressors on the foreign vessel were killed and six were injured,” Cuban officials stated. “The injured individuals were evacuated and received medical assistance.” The Cuban government defended its actions, stating that “national defense is a fundamental pillar of the Cuban State in safeguarding its sovereignty and ensuring stability in the region.”

The incident has prompted swift reactions from Florida’s congressional delegation, particularly from lawmakers with ties to the Cuban-American community. Gimenez, the only Cuban-born member of Congress and a vocal critic of the island’s current regime, told Fox News Digital that the Diaz-Canel government “must be relegated to the dustbin of history for its countless crimes against humanity.” He has requested further details from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who coincidentally was visiting St. Kitts in the Caribbean at the time of the incident.

Representative Maria Elvira Salazar, who represents heavily Cuban-American areas of Miami, issued a statement saying she is “following very closely the reports that Cuban regime forces opened fire on a speedboat registered in Florida,” acknowledging reports of four deaths and six wounded individuals.

Senator Rick Scott has demanded a “full investigation into this deeply concerning situation and to determine what happened,” insisting that “the Communist Cuban regime must be held accountable.”

The timing of the incident is notable, as it coincides with reports that the U.S. Treasury Department may allow oil companies to apply for licenses to resell Venezuelan oil to Cuba amid the ongoing economic crisis on the island, according to Reuters.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has directed inquiries to the State Department, indicating the federal government considers this primarily a diplomatic matter rather than a border security issue.

This deadly encounter occurs against the backdrop of historically tense U.S.-Cuba relations, which have experienced various periods of thawing and refreezing over the decades. The proximity of the incident to U.S. territorial waters—just south of the Florida Keys—adds another layer of complexity to an already delicate diplomatic situation.

As Florida state authorities launch their investigation, questions remain about the circumstances leading to the confrontation and whether the speedboat was engaged in illegal activities or inadvertently strayed into Cuban waters. The incident underscores the ongoing tensions between the United States and the communist-ruled island, particularly as they relate to maritime boundaries and security concerns in the Florida Straits.