Overview
- Cuban officials showed bins of roughly 12,800–12,846 rounds, 13 rifles, 11 pistols, helmets with cameras, and other gear they say were taken from the intercepted speedboat.
- Cuba says 10 Cuban nationals departed Marathon in the Florida Keys on two vessels, consolidated onto one after a malfunction, and a U.S. official says the surviving speedboat was reported stolen in Florida.
- Border guards report engaging the vessel about one mile off Cayo Falcones, with three suspects killed on the spot, a fourth dying later, six detained or wounded, and the patrol commander injured in the exchange.
- Prosecutors say the detainees face potential charges including terrorism, armed aggression, illegal entry, and arms trafficking, with penalties ranging from long prison terms to life imprisonment or, in law, the death penalty under a longstanding moratorium.
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the operation was not U.S. government–run and confirms an independent U.S. probe, as exile figures question Havana’s narrative and the incident unfolds during a period of sharpened U.S. pressure on Cuba.