Cuban authorities said on Thursday that a fifth crew member of a US-flagged speedboat involved in a shootout with the coast guard last week had died from his injuries.
Prosecutors have filed terrorism charges against the surviving crew members of the vessel, who are suspected of attempting to bring weapons into Cuba in a bid to destabilise the communist government in Havana.
One of the six survivors, identified as Roberto Alvarez Avila, “died on 4 March from wounds he received”, the interior ministry said in a statement broadcast on state television.
The confrontation occurred on 25 February when a coast guard vessel approached the speedboat to request identification, and the crew allegedly responded by opening fire.
Cuban coast guard forces returned fire, killing four other people aboard the boat, which had come within one nautical mile of the island’s shores.
Officials said the speedboat, registered in the United States, was carrying firearms of various calibres, including 14 rifles, 11 pistols and nearly 13,000 rounds of ammunition.
The interior ministry added that the investigation into the incident was progressing with the cooperation of US authorities, including evidence sharing and other joint actions.
At least two of those aboard the speedboat were US citizens, one of whom was among those killed.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has made no secret of its desire for regime change in Cuba, imposing an energy blockade after the ouster of former Venezuela leader Nicolás Maduro, whose government had been the island’s main supplier of oil.
