4 people killed in gunfire exchange with Cuban coast guards

Four people were shot dead and six others injured by Cuban border guards early Wednesday as they entered Cuban waters on a U.S.-registered speedboat, the country's interior ministry said. In a statement, the ministry said that the speedboat, with U.S. Florida registration number FL7726SH, was detected navigating illegally about 1 nautical mile northeast of the El Pino channel, north of Corralillo, a town in the central province of Villa Clara.

As a surface unit of the border guard approached to identify the boat, the occupants aboard opened fire, wounding a Cuban commander, it added. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States is investigating the shootings but is so far relying on the Cuban government for information about what happened.