Boat in deadly shooting off Cuba reported stolen from Florida Keys

A boat allegedly involved in a deadly confrontation with Cuban forces was reported stolen from the Florida Keys just hours before the incident, according to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.

Cuban authorities said their soldiers fatally shot four people and wounded six others on Wednesday after a Florida-registered vessel entered Cuban waters and allegedly opened fire first, injuring one Cuban officer, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

Havana identified one of those killed as Hector Duardy Cruz Correa.

The vessel’s registration number — FL7726SH — corresponds to a 24-foot Pro-Line centre console fishing boat built in 1981.

Deputies in Big Pine Key responded later the same day to a report of a stolen boat from a property on Avenue G. The owner told investigators his vessel, bearing the same registration number released by Cuban officials, had been docked on his lot and was discovered missing around 9:30 a.m.

According to the incident report, the owner said he noticed a white pickup truck belonging to Cruz Correa at the property. He told deputies that Cruz Correa had previously done tile work for him, but did not have permission to take the boat. Multiple phone calls to the suspect went unanswered, and the owner told authorities he believed “Hector took his boat to go fishing.”

A neighbour reported seeing a man arrive at the property in a white pickup truck on Tuesday evening and board the boat — unusual behaviour, she said, because the owner did not typically go out that late.

The boat owner told deputies he began receiving calls from media outlets regarding a vessel taken to Cuba that had been involved in a shooting. He subsequently contacted the sheriff’s office to press charges.

On February 26, officials from Homeland Security Investigations were seen at the Big Pine Key property as authorities continued their investigation.

The boat owner told deputies that Cruz Correa had family in Cuba, including two young daughters. He also said the suspect had recently been attempting to repair a large twin-engine boat that was experiencing mechanical problems.

The owner added that he had allowed Cruz Correa to borrow a trailer to transport another vessel he was working on, but said he did not know why the suspect was repairing the boats.

It remains unclear what prompted the confrontation in Cuban waters or how the vessel travelled from the Florida Keys to the area where the shooting occurred. Authorities in both countries have not released further details about the events leading up to the deadly encounter.

By Aghakazim Guliyev