Cuba says it will share information with U.S. after deadly boat confrontation
The Cuban government says it is willing to exchange information with the United States as both countries investigate a deadly confrontation.
(NBC)- The Cuban government says it is willing to exchange information with the United States as both countries investigate a deadly confrontation involving a Florida-registered boat off Cuba’s coast.
U.S. officials told NBC News that American citizens were among the passengers on the 24-foot vessel involved in the incident. At least one U.S. citizen was killed and another is now detained.
Cuban authorities say all 10 people aboard the intercepted boat were “Cuban residents of the U.S.” who were allegedly planning an “infiltration with terrorist purposes.” Officials added that weapons were seized from the vessel.
According to a police report, the boat’s owner reported it stolen after noticing it was missing hours after the shootout.
Cuban authorities say the boat’s passengers fired first at border patrol agents, who then returned fire. Four people were killed and six others were detained and treated for injuries.
Among those detained is Conrado Galindo Sariol. Speaking to Telemundo, his wife, Ana, denied the allegations.
“He wasn’t a terrorist, nor has he ever held a weapon,” she said.
Two sources close to one of the detained men told NBC News that at least some of the passengers were affiliated with an anti-Castro group opposed to Cuba’s communist government.
Michel Ortega Casanova was identified among the dead. In Spanish-language remarks, his brother said, “Somehow this battle has to end,” adding there is a “freedom we all long for.”
Marco Rubio has requested access to the injured detainees, who were initially taken to a hospital in Cuba.
“Right now we’re still gathering facts,” Rubio said Wednesday. “I have every reason to want our own information. We don’t generally make decisions in the United States on the basis of what the Cuban authorities are saying.”
The incident threatens to further strain already tense relations between the United States and Cuba as both governments work to determine what led to the deadly exchange of gunfire.
