MIAMI, United States. – Cuban Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Fernández de Cossío stated that Havana maintains communication with US authorities – including the State Department and the Coast Guard – after the confrontation between Cuban Border Guard Troops and the 10 crew members of a civilian vessel with Florida registration that occurred this Wednesday.
In your statementFernández de Cossío used the same terms as the Ministry of the Interior (MININT) to refer to the incident: “an infiltration attempt for terrorist purposes.”
According to the vice chancellor, Cuba will request information from the United States about “those involved, the means used and other details” through the “mechanisms in force between the two countries” and assured that the US authorities “have shown a willingness to cooperate” in clarifying the facts.
In his statement, Fernández de Cossío identified the 10 individuals who, according to Cuba, participated in the episode: Cristian Ernesto Acosta Guevara, Conrado Galindo Serrior, José Manuel Rodríguez Castelló, Leordán Cruz Gómez, Amijail Sánchez González, Roberto Álvarez Ávila, Pavel Alling Peña (deceased), Michael Ortega Casanova (deceased), Ledián Padrón Guevara (deceased) and Hector Duani Cruz Correa (deceased).
The vice minister added that in initial information “Rolando Roberto Ascorra Consuegra” was included “due to an error of judgment in the identification”whom he ruled out as part of the group, although he described him as someone “known for his career linked to violent actions and intentions against Cuba.”
The official Cuban version maintains that among what was on the boat there were “assault rifles, sniper rifles, pistols, Molotov cocktails” and devices such as “night vision equipment,” “bulletproof vests” and “ammunition of various calibers,” in addition to “an important group of monograms of counterrevolutionary terrorist organizations.”
However, the statement itself emphasizes that “this information remains preliminary” and promises more details “in the coming days.” Until now, specific, verifiable evidence about the arsenal and its provenance has not been presented publicly by an independent source.
This Wednesday, the MININT reported a confrontation in waters north of Corralillo, province of Villa Clara, between border guard troops and the crew of a speedboat with a Florida license plate, an event that left four crew members dead and six injured/detained.
The Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubio, declared that Washington will seek to verify what happened on its own and avoided assuming Havana’s narrative as conclusive. “We are not going to base our conclusions on what [las autoridades cubanas] “They have told us,” he assured.
Fernández de Cossío framed the episode in a historical accusation – “This is not an isolated act,” he stated – and maintained that Cuba has been the victim of “countless terrorist acts” for more than 60 years, “mostly organized, financed and executed from United States territory.”
Along these lines, he assured that Havana has “regularly” shared with the US Government information about people who, according to the regime, “have dedicated themselves to promoting, financing and organizing violent and terrorist acts.”
As a central element of that accusation, the vice chancellor stated that two of the alleged perpetrators – Amijail Sánchez González and Leordan Enrique Cruz Gómez – appear on the “National List of Persons and Entities” linked to criminal investigations for terrorism, which Havana claims to have shared with the United States in 2023 and 2025.
