Cuban forces killed four exiles and wounded six others who sailed into Cuban waters aboard a Florida-registered speedboat on Wednesday and opened fire on a Cuban patrol, the Cuban government said at a time of heightened tensions with the United States.

Cuba’s Interior Ministry said the group was comprised of anti-government Cubans, some of whom were previously wanted for plotting attacks. They came from the United States dressed in camouflage and armed with assault rifles, handguns, homemade explosives, ballistic vests and telescopic sights, Cuba said, Reuters reported.

An additional Cuban suspect was detained inside Cuban territory in connection with the plot, the statement said.

“According to preliminary statements from the detainees, they intended to carry out an infiltration for terrorist purposes,” the Interior Ministry said in an official statement.

The wounded were evacuated and receiving medical attention, while the Cuban patrol commander was also wounded, the ministry said.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters it was not a U.S. operation and that no U.S. government personnel were involved. Cuban authorities made the U.S. aware of the incident, but the U.S. embassy in Havana would attempt to independently verify what happened, Rubio said.

“We are going to have our own information on this, we are going to figure out exactly what happened, and there are a number of things that could have happened here,” Rubio said.

“Suffice to say it is highly unusual to see shootouts in open sea like that,” he said.

The incident took place as the United States has blocked virtually all oil shipments to the island, increasing pressure on the Communist-run government.

American forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas on January 3, removing a key Cuban ally from power, and Rubio reiterated his rhetoric against the Cuban government on Wednesday, calling the status quo unsustainable and saying Cuba needed to change “dramatically.”

BAY OF PIGS

Cuban exiles who are largely concentrated in Miami have long dreamed of overthrowing the Cuban government or seeing it fall and have in the past plotted against the government that was established by the late revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, who died in 2016 at age 90.

Cuban exiles with support and financing from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency carried out the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, an event that strengthened Castro while pushing him closer to his backers in the Soviet Union. Other Cuban paramilitaries have attempted or carried out acts of sabotage in decades past.

Such plots have become far less common in recent years, but opponents of Cuba’s Communist government may have been emboldened by recent events that have promoted an image of weakness for the country’s rulers. The U.S. oil blockade has exacerbated severe energy shortages.

Cuba said it identified the six detainees from the boat, two of whom were previously wanted in Cuba on suspicion of planning terrorist acts against Cuba: Amijail Sanchez Gonzalez and Leordan Enrique Cruz Gomez.

The other four were identified as Conrado Galindo Sariol, Jose Manuel Rodriguez Castello, Cristian Ernesto Acosta Guevara and Roberto Azcorra Consuegra.

In addition, Cuba said it detained another Cuban man in Cuban territory, Duniel Hernandez Santos, who had come from the United States to the island in order to receive the infiltrators.

One of the dead was identified as Michel Ortega Casanova, while the other three dead had yet to be identified, Cuba said.

The speedboat came within one nautical mile of a channel on Falcones Cay, on the north coast of Cuba about 200 km (120 miles) east of Havana, when it was approached by five members of a Cuban border patrol unit, Cuba said.

The speedboat then opened fire, wounding the commander of the Cuban vessel, the statement said.

Florida politicians called for separate investigations, saying they did not trust the Cuban account.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said he was ordering prosecutors to open an investigation in conjunction with other state and federal law enforcement partners.

U.S. Representative Carlos Gimenez, a Republican whose district includes the southern tip of Florida, called for a federal investigation, saying he had asked the U.S. State Department and military to look into the matter.

“United States authorities must determine whether any of the victims were U.S. citizens or legal residents and establish exactly what occurred,” Gimenez said.

U.S. President Donald Trump sought to reset the tone of his second term on Tuesday, delivering a record-breaking 108-minute address to a joint session of Congress in which he hailed what he called a “turnaround for the ages.”

The primetime speech — the longest presidential address to Congress on record — surpassed Trump’s own 100-minute speech last year. Before 2025, the previous modern record was held by Bill Clinton, whose speeches ran 89 minutes in 2000 and 85 minutes in 1995.

Trump was greeted with repeated standing ovations from Republican lawmakers, while many Democrats remained seated in protest. Some Democratic members boycotted the address altogether, underscoring the deep political divisions that continue to define Washington.

Opening with an optimistic tone, Trump declared that the United States was “bigger, better, richer and stronger than ever before,” crediting his administration with delivering dramatic economic and political change in just one year.

“Tonight, after just one year, I can say with dignity and pride that we have achieved a transformation like no one has ever seen before,” Trump said.

The 79-year-old president is facing mounting political pressure ahead of November’s midterm elections, with opinion polls showing weak approval ratings and raising concerns within the Republican Party about potentially losing control of Congress.

Foreign policy focus

On foreign policy, Trump addressed tensions in the Middle East as U.S. naval and air forces deploy to the region. He claimed Iran was pursuing missiles capable of reaching U.S. territory and reiterated that Tehran would never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.

“They are again pursuing their sinister nuclear ambitions,” Trump said, while adding that his “preference” remained a diplomatic solution and that negotiations were ongoing.

He also pointed to developments in Latin America, saying Venezuela had resumed oil shipments to the United States and celebrating the killing of a Mexican drug cartel leader.

Awards and patriotic appeal

Seeking to strike a unifying tone, Trump invited members of the U.S. Olympic ice hockey team — fresh off a gold medal victory — to join him on the House floor, drawing chants of “USA” from Republican lawmakers. He awarded the team’s goalie the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

He also presented Medals of Honor to a wounded helicopter pilot involved in a January operation in Venezuela and to a 100-year-old Korean War veteran.

Sharp attacks and voting battle

Midway through the speech, Trump shifted to sharper rhetoric, accusing Democrats of “destroying our country” and renewing his claims that U.S. elections are plagued by widespread fraud. He urged Congress to pass legislation imposing stricter voter identification requirements.

Opponents argue that additional ID rules could disenfranchise large numbers of eligible voters. The debate over voting laws is expected to intensify as Republicans work to defend their narrow majority in the House of Representatives and potentially the Senate.

Recent national polling has placed Trump’s approval rating below 40 percent, with particularly weak support on inflation and the economy — key issues likely to dominate the midterm campaign.

The president also addressed the Supreme Court’s recent decision striking down his administration’s use of certain trade tariffs. While he briefly greeted several justices in attendance, he described the ruling as “very unfortunate.”

Trump’s speech comes amid a turbulent political period marked by legal battles, controversy over immigration enforcement actions, and renewed scrutiny surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

With midterm elections looming, the record-length address appeared designed to energize supporters and reframe his presidency at a critical political moment.