The program ‘Razones de Cuba’ displayed obsolete weapons and failed to demonstrate that the crew had any military training.
14ymedio, Havana, February 28, 2026 – Without a single image, audio recording, or statement from the survivors, the program Razones de Cuba, hosted by pro-government commentator Humberto López, once again established this Friday the regime’s version of the shooting that occurred on February 25 in the northern keys of Villa Clara. The account, constructed exclusively from institutional voices belonging to the Ministry of the Interior and the Office of the Attorney General, insists that the aggression was initiated by the boat coming from Florida, that the incursion had “terrorist” aims, and that the response of the Border Guard Troops was “rational, defensive, and proportional.”
First Colonel Ebay Carballo Pérez, chief of staff of the Border Guard Troops Directorate, stated that the vessel was intercepted “one mile from the outer strip of the keys” and 11 miles within Cuban territorial waters. According to his timeline, at 7:10 a.m. technical means detected a “naval target” approaching at 24 knots.
However, the official narrative shows cracks. President Miguel Díaz-Canel himself had declared on February 5 that the Government was aware of “plans for terrorist acts” supported and financed from the United States. If prior information existed, was this a simple fortuitous radar detection or a tracking operation? Added to this is the erroneous inclusion in the first reports of an alleged crew member—Roberto Azcorra Consuegra—who was never on the boat, suggesting that authorities had previously handled a preconceived list of names.
While hospitals, transportation, and basic services suffer from an acute fuel crisis, Colonel Carballo stated that the Border Guard Troops maintain a “device in permanent combat readiness,” with naval units “deployed” throughout the country and active radio-technical and visual means. The assertion confirms what many Cubans observe daily: scarcity never reaches the military apparatus.
If a second boat truly existed, why was it not displayed as evidence?
Colonel Víctor Álvarez Valle, deputy head of the specialized unit for crimes against State security, added another element: originally there were two vessels. One suffered mechanical problems and was left adrift; its crew and cargo were transferred to the boat that was ultimately intercepted.
According to a source close to the group, the boat they initially planned to use never left Florida. In fact, the source claims to have seen it still broken down in its usual location just a day before the television program aired. That circumstance would explain why they ended up taking another vessel to make the crossing.
The detail is relevant because on Razones de Cuba two boats were mentioned: one allegedly left adrift after mechanical failure and another carrying the 10 men who were intercepted. However, only one was shown during the broadcast. According to the consulted source, authorities were expecting a specific boat, based on prior information, and the story of an alleged transfer would be a way to adjust the official version to a vessel that does not match the one they supposedly had identified.
If a second boat really existed, why was it not presented as evidence, just like the weapons and the rest of the confiscated cargo?
The numerical and material imbalance also warrants scrutiny. The interceptor boat, with five combatants armed with three AKM rifles and one RPK machine gun, approached a vessel that, according to the official version, carried 10 men, 1.8 tons of cargo, and a 250-horsepower outboard motor. Nevertheless, Carballo himself admitted that the “offending” vessel was stopped and that some of its occupants were in the water when they were surprised. After noticing the presence of the border guards, they reboarded and headed west.
The exchange of gunfire at barely 20 meters initially left three dead and seven wounded on the boat with Florida registration. On the official vessel only the skipper, Captain Yosmany, was wounded, who, according to the account, was hit in the abdominal region and forearm but remained at the helm with “courage and conviction.” The exaggeratedly epic tone contrasts with the absence of any independent testimony about what occurred that Wednesday.
According to Álvarez Valle, the official boat received 13 bullet impacts and the vessel from Florida, 21. The figures are striking considering that, according to the television presentation, the 10 occupants carried three AK-type rifles of Soviet and Chinese origin; a dozen rifles based on the AR-15 platform that are very common on the U.S. civilian market; two higher-powered rifles typically used for precision shooting or big-game hunting; 11 semi-automatic pistols from various manufacturers, mostly 9 millimeter; and 12,846 rounds of ammunition. Altogether, it was a varied arsenal combining long and short firearms available on the legal U.S. market.
However, the source consulted by this newspaper states that in their practice sessions they only used semi-automatic rifles; that is, weapons that fire one projectile per trigger pull, and denies that they had automatic military-grade weapons. The arsenal, displayed in the studio, occupied several meters. If the crew was superior in number and weaponry and, as the Government claims, opened fire first, it is difficult to explain the disparity in damage and casualties.
Authorities emphasized the alleged leadership of Amijaíl Sánchez González, presented as a “terrorist” and linked to events in Cuba even when he already resided in the United States. People close to the group contacted by this newspaper deny, however, that Sánchez was the head of the expedition.
Even more striking is the attempt to present Maritza Lugo Fernández—former political prisoner and “plantada*,” residing in the United States—as the “intellectual author” of the events. The accusation not only broadens the case beyond the intercepted vessel but also shifts the focus toward the exile community.
By attributing criminal responsibility to an opposition figure living on U.S. territory, the regime appears to pursue several objectives simultaneously. On one hand, it internationalizes the case file and pressures agencies such as the FBI to open or reactivate investigations into exiled Cubans accused by Havana. On the other, it extends the political and judicial pressure on the diaspora, sending the message that any activism can be reinterpreted as support for violent actions.
Among the confiscated cargo, the program showed emblems of Autodefensa del Pueblo and the 30th of November Democratic Movement, as well as canteens, camouflage nets, Molotov cocktails, and other devices. In a revealing moment, Carballo stated: “If we had not responded as we did, the dead would have been on our side.” The phrase, far from closing the debate, revives the central question: who fired first and under what exact circumstances?
Prosecutor Edward Robert Campbell indicated that sentences could range from 10 years in prison to life imprisonment or even the death penalty. Humberto López intervened to note that, nevertheless, the procedural outcome “is obvious.”
For his part, military doctor Juan Antonio Rodríguez Aguilera reported that the skipper of the official boat is out of danger. He did not clarify, however, the circumstances in which the fourth officially reported fatality died. He did state that the detainees are receiving medical care “with all the resources they need.” When asked why resources are allocated to those who “invaded” the country, he replied that it is part of the Revolution’s ethics.
What the official discourse omits is that providing medical assistance to the wounded and to persons in custody is not an ideological concession but a basic obligation under international humanitarian law. Failing to comply with it would constitute a crime.
*Translator’s note: “Plantado/a’ — literally ’planted’ — is a term with a long history in Cuba and is used to describe a political prisoner who refuses to cooperate in any way with their incarceration. See also…
Translated by Regina Anavy
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