FEB. 25 — The Cuban government announced this afternoon that a speedboat registered in Florida approached their coast near Corralillo, in Villa Clara province. When a Cuban border guard boat approached to ask for identification, those on the U.S. boat opened fire, wounding the commander of the Cubans’ vessel. The Cuban forces returned fire.
“As a result of the confrontation, at the time of this report, four foreign attackers were killed and six were wounded,” Cuba’s Ministry of the Interior said. “In the face of current challenges, Cuba reaffirms its determination to protect its territorial waters, based on the principle that national defense is a fundamental pillar of the Cuban State in safeguarding its sovereignty and stability in the region.”
The New York Times’ slanted coverage points out that this attack comes one day after the 30th anniversary of Cuba’s shooting down two planes flown toward Havana by members of Miami-based Brothers to the Rescue, invading Cuban airspace. Members of this Cuban counterrevolutionary outfit had long histories of armed actions against Cuba, dating back to the failed April 1961 CIA-organized Bay of Pigs invasion. The Times called this terrorist outfit “a South Florida humanitarian organization that was distributing fliers in Cuba.”
“As we gather more information, we’ll be prepared to respond,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters. He said that Washington is “investigating” today’s events.
A number of Florida politicians, longstanding opponents of Cuba’s socialist revolution, tried to shift blame for the attack onto the Cuban government. James Uthmeier, Florida’s attorney general, ordered the state’s Office of Statewide Prosecution to start a criminal investigation. “The Cuban government cannot be trusted, and we will do everything in our power to hold these communists accountable.”
In face of such provocations, “all those who defend Cuban sovereignty and its socialist revolution must be ready to mount immediate public protests if the U.S. rulers take steps to attack Cuba or further tighten its blockade on oil and other shipments,” Paul Mailhot, Socialist Workers Party candidate for governor in New York, told the Militant. “U.S. hands off Cuba!”