Cuban coast guard kills 4 in exchange of gunfire with stolen speedboat as ministry IDs 'criminal' suspects

Cuba's coast guard shot dead four people and wounded six others aboard a U.S.-registered speedboat in an exchange of gunfire off the communist island's coast, the Interior Ministry said Wednesday.

In a statement, the ministry said a Cuban patrol vessel had approached the Florida-registered boat to identify those on board when shots were fired from the boat, wounding the captain of the Cuban craft.

According to Havana's statement, the boat was detected within Cuban territorial waters Wednesday morning on the northeast side of the El Pino channel near Cayo Falcones in Villa Clara province.