US-flagged Boat's Incursion Into Cuban Waters: Unexpected Details Emerge
- 27.02.2026, 9:34
The sheriff's office in Florida confirmed the insider information.
A boat that entered Cuban waters the other day and began shooting at border guards was hijacked by Amerikans in the Florida Keys.
It was reported by Axios.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. is investigating the incident and has formally asked Cuba for access to the six injured.
At the same time, an anonymous U.S. official told the publication that although the names of those involved in the incident have not been released, the owner of the boat in Florida said - the vessel was stolen by an employee.
The official said some of those on the boat had criminal records, and at least one of the dead was a U.S. citizen.
Another U.S. citizen was among the injured and is being cared for by doctors in Cuba, the official told reporters.
He also claims that at least one person among the boat hijackers had a valid U.S. K-1 visa, a nonimmigrant visa that allows an alien to enter the United States to marry a U.S. citizen.
The other people aboard the boat are believed to be lawful permanent residents of the United States.
The purpose of the armed group's trip to Cuba is still unclear. Florida state and local officials are also investigating the incident.
The Monroe County (Florida) Sheriff's Office confirmed to Axios that it is investigating the theft of the boat.
According to the sheriff's office, its owner reported the theft of the boat from Big Pine Key late Wednesday after receiving calls from reporters about it.
The owner of the boat told the sheriff's office that he suspected a man who helped lay tile during a renovation project.
The report said the victim told investigators that the man "has family in Cuba, including two young daughters who are still in Cuba."
The publication recalls that four people were killed and six injured the other day in an incident in Cuba when unidentified men on a boat began shooting at the country's border guards.
Cuban officials reported at the time that the boat's passengers opened fire at the Cuban Coast Guard as the boat approached the island nation, prompting its officers to fire back.
After the incident, U.S. authorities denied involvement in the emergency.