Russia Weighs in on Cuba's Response to Confrontation with Speedboat
Cuban border guards "did what they had to do in this situation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Thursday, dismissing calls for further commentary. "There is nothing to comment on here," he said, adding that the Cuban nationals now living in the US who attempted to enter the island's territory with weapons in hand "confessed" they were trying to do so "for the purpose of carrying out terrorist actions."
Peskov also urged all sides to avoid inflaming the situation. "As for security around the island, it is, of course, very important that everyone exercises restraint and does not allow any provocative actions," he said.
In a separate statement to a state news agency, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova escalated Moscow's rhetoric further, labeling the episode "an aggressive provocation by the US, the goal of which is to escalate the situation and spark a conflict."
According to Cuba's Interior Ministry, a Florida-registered vessel unlawfully entered Cuban territorial waters on Wednesday. When border guards moved to intercept the boat, those on board opened fire. The exchange left the Cuban border patrol commander wounded, four assailants dead, and six others injured.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio — a Cuban American born in Miami, Florida — stopped short of assigning blame, saying Wednesday that authorities are investigating the incident, adding: "We're going to find out exactly what happened here, and then we'll respond accordingly."
The violent confrontation comes at a volatile moment in US-Cuba relations. The Trump administration has intensified economic pressure on the island and expanded American maritime operations across the Caribbean, including strikes on vessels Washington alleges are involved in drug trafficking. Florida, which lies just 90 miles (145 kilometers) from Cuban shores, is home to a large and politically vocal Cuban exile community with deep-rooted opposition to the island's communist government.
The episode draws uncomfortable historical echoes — in 1961, a CIA-backed force of Cuban exiles suffered a catastrophic defeat in the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, a moment that has long shaped the hostile dynamic between the two nations.
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