Cuba charges six exiles with terrorism in speedboat attack

By Daniel Trotta

HAVANA, March 3 (Reuters) – Cuban prosecutors formally charged six people with “crimes of terrorism” and ordered them held in pretrial detention on Tuesday in connection with an incident last week in which Cuban forces killed four Cuban nationals and wounded six others aboard a speedboat that entered Cuban waters.

Cuba’s Interior Ministry announced the gunbattle at sea last Wednesday, accusing the Cuban exiles of opening fire on a border guard vessel, saying they came from the United States with the intent to sow chaos and attack military units on the Communist-ruled island. 

Cuban forces returned fire and took the six survivors into custody, Cuba said.

There was no further update as to the condition of the wounded detainees, nor their whereabouts at a time of heightened tensions between the U.S. and Cuba. Washington has effectively halted all oil shipments to the Communist-ruled island while demanding political and economic changes.

Cuban officials have said the purported infiltrators came armed with nearly 13,000 rounds of ammunition, 13 rifles and 11 pistols, displaying the captured armaments from the studio on a special television program on Friday.

They also showed pictures of the vessels, each peppered with bullet holes from the firefight they said took place at a range of 20 meters (66 feet).

Cuba has said at least two of those taken into custody had been previously placed on a list of accused terrorists.

Prosecutor Edward Robert Campbell told the state television program on Friday the accused faced a host of possible charges including crimes associated with terrorist acts. 

If convicted they could face prison terms of up to 10 to 15 years for the lesser offenses and 20 to 30 years – or even the death penalty – for the more serious charges, Campbell said.

U.S. politicians have expressed skepticism over Cuba’s version of events, calling for independent investigations. Secretary of State Marco Rubio it was not a U.S. operation and that no U.S. government personnel were involved.

(Reporting by Daniel Trotta in Havana; Additional reporting by Daina Beth Solomon in Mexico City; Editing by Sonali Paul)