Washington, February 26 – Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States is investigating an “incident off the coast of Cuba” after Cuban authorities reported what he called a rare “shootout at sea” episode, with Washington seeking independent confirmation of the facts and access to anyone involved who may be US citizens or residents.
“So this morning, we were informed by Cuban authorities about an incident off the coast of Cuba,” Rubio told reporters on Wednesday (local time) in Saint Kitts and Nevis. “We immediately began to look into it.”
He said the Department of Homeland Security, the Coast Guard, and other parts of the US government were involved, and that “the majority of the information we still possess comes from the Cuban authorities, both to the public and to the US Government.”
“Our embassy in Havana is working on this as we speak, asking for access to the people on those vessels, if they were American citizens or permanent residents,” he said. Rubio added, “According to the Cuban regime, the boat was registered in Florida. We are tracking that down.”
Rubio repeatedly declined to draw conclusions before US agencies verify the details. “I’m not going to speculate,” he said. “But we are going to find out exactly what happened here, and then we will respond accordingly.”
Asked if there was any US government operation involved, he said: “No, no.” He also said that Cuba’s border guard and the US Coast Guard maintain routine contact, and that the Cubans alerted the Coast Guard earlier in the day. “We are going to verify that information independently and reach our own conclusions,” he said.
Rubio described the reported circumstances as unusual. “Suffice it to say, it is highly unusual to see shootouts at sea like that,” he said. “It’s something that hasn’t happened with Cuba in a very long time.”
He also warned against relying solely on Havana’s account. “We don’t generally make decisions in the United States based on what Cuban authorities are saying,” Rubio said.
In the same remarks, Rubio addressed a US move involving Venezuelan oil sales to Cuba’s private sector for humanitarian reasons. “No, it has always been legal to sell to the private sector in Cuba,” he said, stressing that it would not involve “sales to the government” or “the military-owned GAESA.”
Rubio said Cuba’s private sector “is quite small,” and argued that the island’s deeper problems were structural. “The people of Cuba are suffering today,” he said. “They are suffering now, perhaps more than at any time in recent memory, perhaps in the history since 1959.”
He said the administration would revoke permissions if fuel is diverted. “If we catch the private sector there playing games and diverting it to the regime or to the military company… those licenses will be cancelled,” Rubio said.
Rubio also previewed talks on Iran, saying, “the President was very clear last night that he always prefers diplomacy,” but warned that “Iran poses a very grave threat” and that “these ballistic missiles are a grave threat.”
Cuba and the United States have had decades of strained relations shaped by the US trade embargo and periodic cycles of migration, including boat crossings toward Florida.
US agencies and regional partners have long treated maritime incidents in the Florida Straits as high-risk because they can quickly trigger humanitarian and border-security pressures.
Iran’s nuclear programme has been the subject of years of international diplomacy and sanctions, with US officials repeatedly pressing to curb enrichment and address delivery systems.
Past talks have often faltered over verification, the scope of limits, and whether missile programmes are included.