US-based suspects captured when entering Cuba collaborate

Oafter trying to forcibly enter Cuba from the United States, they confessed and cooperated with the investigators, revealed today the Cuban authorities, adding that the seized weapons and explosives were operational and powerful.

Men can be charged with terrorism and sentenced to death. Cuba hasn't done an execution in decades.

A speedboat with 10 men of Cuban origin tried to enter Cuban waters on February 25, with those shooting at a Cuban Coast Guard vessel attempting to intercept them.

The confrontation resulted in the death of four attackers and injuries to the captain of the Cuban vessel.

The Cuban Ministry of Interior has already presented the weapons and equipment seized to the group, including rifles, explosives, backpacks with clothes, uniforms, boots, helmets, food medicines, an electric generator, satellite communications equipment and thousands of ammunition.

“ The weapons and explosives were all in good condition and ready to cause damage,” Col. Francisco Estrada Portales, from the State Security Department, from the Interior Ministry, told AP.

Estrada said that the confession of suspects and the cooperation they demonstrated helped investigators determine that Cuban Amijail Sánchez, who has been living in the US since 2016, fired the first shots. Sánchez, who is under arrest, was included in a list of alleged terrorists that Cuba delivered to the UN in 2025.

Another detainee, Leordan Cruz, also appears on the Cuban terrorist list.

The Cuban authorities showed AP videos with the recordings of the detainees' statements.

In one of them, Cruz states that the group sought to secure a space and encourage the overthrow of the government.

Road said that Cuba shared this material with the US, but that it has not yet received any reaction.