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Cuban authorities reported that all the injured—including an officer from the island—during the clash between Border Guard troops and a speedboat coming from Florida are receiving medical attention with all available resources from the healthcare system.
Colonel Juan Antonio Ramírez Aguilera, head of the medical services of the Ministry of the Interior (MININT), stated in comments to the official program Razones de Cuba that both the injured officer and the occupants of the intercepted vessel are receiving care under the same medical protocols.
"The captain of the boat who was injured in the abdomen and forearm is out of danger and his health condition is favorable," the officer clarified.
He added that he receives specialized medical care and that "he has all the necessary resources for his recovery."
Ramírez Aguilera emphasized that as part of medical ethics in Cuba, healthcare resources are made available to patients “regardless of who they are,” which is why they are also being used to care for those injured in the boat coming from Florida.
The incident occurred off the northern coast of Villa Clara, when a Border Guard unit intercepted a vessel registered in Florida that, according to the official version, was sailing illegally in Cuban territorial waters.
During the operation, the master of the Cuban vessel —previously identified as Captain Yosmany— was shot in the abdominal area while maneuvering the unit.
According to the explanation provided on national television by Colonel Ybey Carballo Pérez, head of the General Staff of the Border Guard Troops, the intercepted vessel opened fire when the Cuban unit approached to identify it. Following the aggression, the Cuban crew responded with their standard-issue weaponry.
The authorities indicated that there were ten people on the boat and that the exchange of gunfire resulted in both deaths and injuries among those on board. Subsequently, the injured were taken to hospitals on the mainland.
The case has generated diplomatic tensions, as among the victims were American citizens and legal residents in that country.
While investigations continue, the Cuban government insists that the response was "defensive and proportional" and asserts that all the injured are receiving medical attention according to established protocols.
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