Cuba's communist government continues to claim that the 10 passengers on a boat that had entered Cuban waters were armed Cubans living in the U.S., who were trying to infiltrate the island and unleash terrorism. According to Associated Press, Cuba said that its soldiers killed four people and wounded six aboard a Florida-registered boat that opened fire on the soldiers first, injuring one Cuban officer.
The Cuba government claims that the majority of the passengers “have a known history of criminal and violent activity.” For example, they identified two of the passengers as Amijail Sánchez González and Leordan Enrique Cruz Gómez, who are wanted by Cuban authorities for multiple connections to terrorism.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that the U.S. is doing its own investigation to determine if the victims were American citizens or permanent residents.
Humberto Fontova is an author and Latin American expert, who escaped Fidel Castro's Cuban regime in 1961.
"The best guess that I've gathered — I've read probably six articles — is that they were there to pull people out of Cuba, to rescue some people, probably relatives, and get them out. They were not terrorists going to start terrorist activities,” states Fontova. “I mean that would be insane in Cuba, which is what the Castro regime is saying."
Fontova does not think that there will be regime change in Cuba, at least, in the short run. He also thinks that the Trump administration is looking for a soft landing rather than an abrupt regime change.
"I don't think that the American people are in a mood right now to accept a gigantic influx of basically refugees who would probably be dependent on some form of government aid. I don't think we're ready for that right now,” says Fontova. “It pains me to say that but I'm being truthful."
