Cuba Blames US for Failing to Curb Anti-Government Militants

By Staff, Agencies

Cuban officials have accused the United States of failing to prevent militants on American soil from plotting to overthrow the Cuban government, following a deadly shootout this week involving a boat allegedly stolen in Florida.

According to authorities in Cuba, a patrol vessel intercepted a boat carrying armed individuals who opened fire on the coast guard, prompting return fire.

Four people were killed and six injured. US media reports suggested the group may have been linked to a Florida-based anti-Castro insurgency and possibly infiltrated by Cuban security forces before being ambushed en route to the island.

Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio said the incident was not isolated. “Cuba has been the victim of attacks and countless terrorist acts for more than 60 years, most of which have been organized, financed, and carried out from the territory of the United States,” he stated on Thursday.

He added that two of the alleged perpetrators were included on a list of suspected extremists shared with US authorities in 2023 and 2025, claiming they had “enjoyed impunity within US territory.”

He acknowledged that the initial Cuban account mistakenly named an individual who was not on the boat.

The error prompted speculation, reported by The New York Times, that Cuban authorities may have had prior knowledge of the group’s plans.

The individual mistakenly named, Roberto Azcorra Consuegra, a 31-year-old activist who fled Cuba in 2017, was later interviewed in Miami. He expressed opposition to the Cuban government and praised those listed by Havana as “brave men,” according to the report.

The boat involved in the incident was reportedly stolen in the Florida Keys, Axios cited local law enforcement as saying.

One of the suspects named by Cuban authorities, Hector Cruz Correa, was reported among those killed.