Cuba coast guard shot and killed four on US-registered speedboat

Cuba's coast guard said Wednesday, it shot dead four people and wounded six others traveling in a US-registered speedboat during an exchange of fire near Cuba's shores that came amid heightened tensions with Washington. Havana did not reveal the nationalities of the passengers aboard the Florida-registered boat nor why it was approaching the communist-run island, which is under strict US sanctions.  The Cuban Ministry of Interior said the people on board opened fire when officers moved in to check the boat. The firing injured a Cuban commander, the ministry said, adding that it led to a gunfight.
According to the ministry's statement, the speedboat, registered in Florida under number FL7726SH, was detected near the El Pino channel in Cayo Falcones, part of Villa Clara province. A patrol unit from the Border Guard Troops carrying five service members moved to intercept the boat after it came within about one nautical mile of the coast.The Cuban government frequently reports incursions by speedboats from the United States into its territorial waters. The interior ministry said it was still investigating the incident and remained committed to protecting Cuban waters.
In Washington, US Vice President JD Vance said the White House was "monitoring" the situation and that "hopefully it's not as bad as we fear it could be." US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was seeking its own facts about the shooting and would "respond accordingly."
Incursion incidents are often related to people smuggling to the US or drug trafficking, and have included chases, shootouts and armed attacks on border guards.Shortages of food and medicine and daily blackouts drove an exodus from the island in recent years, with many heading to southern Florida, which has received waves of Cuban migration since the 1960s.