Cuba announces fifth death after shootout with Florida-tagged speedboat

The government in Havana has claimed that the 10 people on board the speedboat had planned to unleash terrorism in Cuba.Published On 7 Mar 2026The government of Cuba has announced that a fifth person died as a consequence of a fatal shootout last month involving a Florida-flagged speedboat that allegedly opened fire on soldiers off the island nation’s north coast.The island’s Ministry of Interior said late on Thursday in a statement that Roberto Alvarez Avila died on March 4 as a result of his injuries.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Cuba hit by massive power outage amid US oil pressurelist 2 of 3Cuba’s economy on edge: Fuel shortages and rising hardshiplist 3 of 3Trump says regime change in Cuba is ‘question of time’ after Iranend of listIt added that the remaining injured detainees “continue to receive specialised medical care according to their health status”.On February 26, authorities in Cuba said that Cuban soldiers confronted a speedboat carrying 10 people as the vessel approached the island and opened fire on the troops.They said the passengers were armed Cubans living in the United States who were trying to infiltrate the island and “unleash terrorism”. Cuba said its soldiers killed four people and wounded six others.“The statements made by the detainees themselves, together with a series of investigative procedures, reinforce the evidence against them,” the Cuban Interior Ministry said in its statement.It added that “new elements are being obtained that establish the involvement of other individuals based in the US”.Earlier this week, Cuba said it had filed terrorism charges against six suspects who were on the speedboat. The government also unveiled items it claimed to have found on the boat, including a dozen high-powered weapons, more than 12,800 pieces of ammunition and 11 pistols.Cuban authorities have provided few details about the shooting, but they said the boat was roughly 1.6 kilometres (1 mile) northeast of Cayo Falcones, off the country’s north coast.