The FBI team arrived on Tuesday as part of its thorough and independent investigation into the incident, said an official at the U.S. embassy in Havana on condition of anonymity.
A team from the American federal police is in Cuba to investigate an exchange of fire that occurred at the end of February between Cuban coastguards and a U.S.-registered speedboat, said an embassy official in Havana on Wednesday. The FBI team arrived Tuesday “as part of its thorough and independent investigation,” according to the official.
This visit comes amid increasing tensions between the United States and the Cuban communist government. President Donald Trump has imposed a de facto oil blockade on Havana since January and has mentioned the possibility of “taking over” Cuba. The shooting incident occurred on February 25 when a Cuban coastguard frigate approached the speedboat to ask for identification, and the crew responded by opening fire, according to Cuban authorities. Five occupants of the boat registered in Florida were killed.
The five surviving passengers have been charged with “terrorism” by Cuban authorities, who accuse them of carrying weapons and seeking to destabilize the Cuban government. The U.S. embassy representative did not provide details on the FBI visit on Wednesday. He referred back to statements made in February by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who stated that “the majority of the information made public comes from the Cubans.”
“We will verify this independently and discover exactly what happened, and then we will act accordingly,” he said. Havana stated that the ten occupants of the speedboat were Cubans residing in the United States, most of whom had criminal records. At least two of them were American citizens, according to a U.S. official.
