Cuban forces killed four exiles and wounded six others who sailed into Cuban waters aboard a Florida-registered speedboat on Wednesday and opened fire on a Cuban patrol, the Cuban government said at a time of heightened tensions with the United States.

Cuba’s Interior Ministry said the group was comprised of anti-government Cubans, some of whom were previously wanted for plotting attacks. They came from the United States dressed in camouflage and armed with assault rifles, handguns, homemade explosives, ballistic vests and telescopic sights, Cuba said.

An additional Cuban suspect was detained inside Cuban territory in connection with the plot, the statement said.

“According to preliminary statements from the detainees, they intended to carry out an infiltration for terrorist purposes,” the Interior Ministry said in an official statement.

The wounded were evacuated and receiving medical attention, while the Cuban patrol commander was also wounded, the ministry said.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters it was not a US operation and that no US government personnel were involved. Cuban authorities made the US aware of the incident, but the US embassy in Havana would attempt to independently verify what happened, Rubio said.

“We are going to have our own information on this, we are going to figure out exactly what happened, and there are a number of things that could have happened here,” Rubio said.

“Suffice to say it is highly unusual to see shootouts in open sea like that,” he said.

The incident took place as the United States has blocked virtually all oil shipments to the island, increasing pressure on the Communist-run government.

American forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas on January 3, removing a key Cuban ally from power, and Rubio reiterated his rhetoric against the Cuban government on Wednesday, calling the status quo unsustainable and saying Cuba needed to change “dramatically.”

Bay of Pigs

Cuban exiles who are largely concentrated in Miami have long dreamed of overthrowing the Cuban government or seeing it fall and have in the past plotted against the government that was established by the late revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, who died in 2016 at age 90.

Cuban exiles with support and financing from the US Central Intelligence Agency carried out the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, an event that strengthened Castro while pushing him closer to his backers in the Soviet Union. Other Cuban paramilitaries have attempted or carried out acts of sabotage in decades past.

Such plots have become far less common in recent years, but opponents of Cuba's Communist government may have been emboldened by recent events that have promoted an image of weakness for the country's rulers. The US oil blockade has exacerbated severe energy shortages.

Cuba said it identified the six detainees from the boat, two of whom were previously wanted in Cuba on suspicion of planning terrorist acts against Cuba: Amijail Sanchez Gonzalez and Leordan Enrique Cruz Gomez.

The other four were identified as Conrado Galindo Sariol, Jose Manuel Rodriguez Castello, Cristian Ernesto Acosta Guevara and Roberto Azcorra Consuegra.

In addition, Cuba said it detained another Cuban man in Cuban territory, Duniel Hernandez Santos, who had come from the United States to the island in order to receive the infiltrators.

One of the dead was identified as Michel Ortega Casanova, while the other three dead had yet to be identified, Cuba said.

The speedboat came within one nautical mile of a channel on Falcones Cay, on the north coast of Cuba about 200 km (120 miles) east of Havana, when it was approached by five members of a Cuban border patrol unit, Cuba said.

The speedboat then opened fire, wounding the commander of the Cuban vessel, the statement said.

Florida politicians called for separate investigations, saying they did not trust the Cuban account.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said he was ordering prosecutors to open an investigation in conjunction with other state and federal law enforcement partners.

US Representative Carlos Gimenez, a Republican whose district includes the southern tip of Florida, called for a federal investigation, saying he had asked the US State Department and military to look into the matter.

“United States authorities must determine whether any of the victims were US citizens or legal residents and establish exactly what occurred,” Gimenez said.

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HED: What are Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities?

DEK:

A new surface-to-surface 4th generation Khorramshahr ballistic missile called Khaibar with a range of 2,000 km is launched at an undisclosed location in Iran, in this picture obtained on May 25, 2023.

REUTERS

DUBAI, February 26 -

Iran holds a new round of nuclear talks with the United States on Thursday in Geneva. Its arsenal of missiles has been a sticking point in negotiations.

Here are some details about Iran’s missiles:

What are ballistic missiles?

A ballistic missile is a rocket-propelled weapon that is guided during its ascent but follows a free-fall trajectory for most of its flight. It delivers warheads - containing either conventional explosives or potentially biological, chemical or nuclear munitions - over varying distances.

Western powers regard Iran’[s ballistic missile arsenal both as a conventional military threat to Middle East stability and a possible delivery mechanism for nuclear weapons, should Tehran develop them. Iran denies any intent to build atomic bombs.

Iranian missile types and ranges

Iran has the largest stockpile of ballistic missiles in the Middle East, according to the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence. They have a self-imposed range of 2,000 km (1,240 miles), which Iranian officials have said was enough to protect the country as they can reach Israel.

Many of Iran’s missile sites are in and around Tehran. There are at least five known underground “missile cities” in various provinces, including Kermanshah and Semnan, as well as near the Gulf region.

The arsenal encompasses multiple long-range missiles that can reach Israel, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. It says these include the Sejil, with a 2,000-km range; Emad, 1,700 km; Ghadr, 2,000 km; Shahab-3, 1,300 km; Khorramshahr, 2,000 km; and Hoveyzeh 1,350 km.

The semi-official Iranian news outlet ISNA published a graphic in April 2025 showing nine Iranian missiles it said could reach Israel, including the Sejil, which ISNA said was capable of flying at more than 17,000 km (10,500 miles) per hour and had a range of 2,500 km; the Kheibar, with a range of 2,000 km; and the Haj Qasem, 1,400 km.

Washington-based think tank, the Arms Control Association says Iran’s ballistic arsenal included the Shahab-1, with an estimated range of 300 km; the Zolfaghar, 700 km; Shahab-3, 800-1,000 km; Emad-1, under development, 2,000 km; and a Sejil model under development, 1,500-2,500 km.

When did Iran last use its missiles?

During the 12-day war with Israel in June 2025, Tehran fired ballistic missiles into Israel, killing dozens of people and destroying buildings.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and AEI Critical Threats Project said Israel “likely destroyed around a third of the Iranian missile launchers” during the conflict. Iranian officials have said Tehran has recovered from the damage incurred during the war.

Iran also responded to US participation in Israel's air war by firing missiles at the US Al Udeid air base in Qatar. Tehran gave advance warning and no one was hurt. Washington announced a ceasefire hours later.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards used missiles in January 2024 when they said they had attacked Israel’s spy headquarters in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, and that they had also fired at Islamic State militants in Syria.

Tehran also announced missile strikes targeting two bases of a Baloch militant group in Pakistan.

Saudi Arabia and the United States have said they believe Iran was behind a drone and missile attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities in 2019. Tehran denied this.

In 2020, Iran launched missiles at US-led forces in Iraq in retaliation for a US drone strike that killed Major General Qassem Soleimani of the Revolutionary Guards.

Missile strategy and development

Iran says its ballistic missiles provide a deterrent and retaliatory force against the United States, Israel and other potential regional targets.

According to a 2023 report by Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the US-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Iran continues to develop underground missile depots complete with transport and firing systems, as well as production and storage centres. In 2020, Iran fired a ballistic missile from underground for the first time, it said.

“Years of reverse-engineering missiles and producing various missile classes have also taught Iran about stretching airframes and building them with lighter composite materials to increase missile range,” the report said.

In June 2023, Iran presented what officials described as its first domestically made hypersonic ballistic missile, the official IRNA news agency reported. Hypersonic missiles can fly at least five times faster than the speed of sound on a complex trajectory, making them difficult to intercept.

The Arms Control Association says Iran’s missile programme is largely based on North Korean and Russian designs and has benefited from Chinese assistance.

Iran also has cruise missiles such as the Kh-55, an air-launched nuclear-capable weapon with a range up to 3,000 km.