The regime claims that the crew entered Cuban waters armed and opened fire, but Washington wants to verify its version with its own investigation
14ymedio / EFE, Havana, April 1, 2026 – A team from the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrived in Havana to take part in the investigation into the incident that occurred on February 25 in Cuban waters, in which five crew members of a boat coming from Florida were killed. “The FBI team arrived in Havana yesterday to conduct an independent and thorough investigation into the incident,” a U.S. government source told EFE on Wednesday.
According to the official Cuban version, the vessel was intercepted by border guard troops north of Villa Clara, near Cayo Falcones, with ten people on board, all residents of the United States. Havana maintains that shots were fired from the boat at the patrol and that its agents responded, in a confrontation that left four dead on the spot, six injured, and one Cuban officer wounded. Days later, one of the injured died, bringing the death toll to five.
The deceased were identified as Pável Alling Peña, Michel Ortega Casanova, Ledián Padrón Guevara, Héctor Duani Cruz Correa, and Roberto Álvarez Ávila. The latter died on March 4 while in custody of Cuban authorities. His name had also been omitted from the first official statement, which instead included a Cuban citizen who was in the United States.
The regime’s version has been questioned by relatives of the victims and by independent media.
The arrival of the FBI had been announced by Miguel Díaz-Canel on March 13. At that time, the Cuban leader said that Washington had expressed through diplomatic and consular channels its interest in cooperating to clarify what happened. On the U.S. side, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after the incident that the Trump administration sought to contrast the Cuban version with “independent information.”
The case erupted amid escalating tensions between Havana and Washington, in the context of increased U.S. pressure on the Island, negotiations marked by tension, and openly confrontational statements from both governments. Weeks before the incident, 32 Cuban soldiers had died in Caracas during the U.S. operation in which Nicolás Maduro was captured. Since then, the regime has multiplied military exercises across Cuba and has strongly revived its “besieged plaza” rhetoric. In that climate, the limited cooperation with the FBI stands out as a rare exception within a relationship dominated by mutual distrust.
Even so, the episode remains surrounded by unanswered questions. The regime’s version has been challenged by victims’ relatives and independent media, who point to contradictions, changes in the identification of those involved, and the absence of conclusive public testimony and evidence about how the shooting actually occurred.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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