Cuban prosecutors have charged six people with terrorism after a U.S.-flagged speedboat carrying armed men was involved in a deadly shootout with Cuba’s coast guard near the island’s shores last week, authorities said.
The six defendants, Cuban nationals based in the United States, are accused of loading the vessel with weapons and heading toward Cuba with the intention of destabilising the government in Havana, according to a statement from the attorney general’s office.
Cuba’s coast guard intercepted the boat on Feb. 25 when it came within one nautical mile of the island. Four people aboard the vessel were killed during the firefight, officials said.
At least two of those on the speedboat were U.S. citizens, one of whom was among those killed.
Cuban officials said the group was carrying nearly 13,000 rounds of ammunition, 13 rifles and 11 pistols.
The six suspects taken into custody will be “remanded into provisional detention,” the attorney general’s office said.
Authorities said at least two of the detainees had previously been placed on a list of individuals accused of terrorism.