What We Know About the Boat Shooting Off Cuba

One full day has not brought much clarity to a jarring incident off the coast of Cuba, one in which Havana accused would-be infiltrators of attempting to reach the mainland in a speedboat "for terrorist ends." The details:

• The shooting: Cuban officials say one of its coast guard boats came under fire when it approached a boat with 10 people aboard near Cayo Falcones island, off Cuba's northern coast, reports the Guardian. The Cuban coast guard said it returned fire, killing four men and wounding the six others.
• Identities: The Cuban government identified all 10 as Cuban citizens living in the US, reports Florida Today. Their 24-foot Pro-Line motorboat is registered in Florida. Cuba says two of the men, Amijail Sánchez González and Leordan Enrique Cruz Gómez, were previously wanted by Cuban authorities "based on their involvement in the promotion, planning, organization, financing, support or commission" of terrorism, per the AP.

• Alleged motive: The Ministry of the Interior says the men were planning "an infiltration with terrorist ends," but it did not provide further details, per the New York Times. Authorities say the men had weapons including Molotov cocktails, assault rifles, camouflage gear, and bulletproof vests. Cuba says it arrested another man who had previously flown to Havana from the US and intended to meet the boat.
• A brother: One of the men killed was identified as Michel Ortega Casanova, whose brother tells the AP that he had an "obsessive and diabolical" desire to out Cuba's Communist government because of the hardship their family endured before leaving for the US. He said his brother was a US citizen who had lived in America for more than two decades.
• US response: Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters the US was still trying to confirm the information out of Havana and would conduct its own investigation. "We in the United States don't usually make decisions based on information from the Cuban government." Rep. Carlos Gimenez, a Republican who represents Florida, called the shooting a "massacre" and demanded a complete investigation.
• Context: US relations with Cuba are at a low point, especially after the US cut off oil shipments from Venezuela to Cuba. The Cuban economy is in "freefall," according to the Times, plagued by oil shortages and sky-high prices.