The shootout, which killed four of 10 people allegedly trying to infiltrate Cuba with terrorist intent, comes as the U.S. has choked off Cuba’s oil supply and raised the possibility of regime change.

Cuba's Interior Ministry said Wednesday night that the boat was carrying 10 people armed with assault rifles, handguns and Molotov cocktails.

Four armed Cubans aboard a Florida-based speedboat died in a gunfight with Cuban border troops on Wednesday, officials said.

Aboard the Florida-registered vessel, four were killed and six wounded, Cuba said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said U.S. personnel were not involved and called for an investigation.

Cuba says the 10 passengers on a boat that opened fire on its soldiers were armed Cubans living in the U.S. who were trying to infiltrate the island and unleash terrorism

Cuba said its forces fatally shot four heavily armed people attempting to “infiltrate” its territory on a Florida-registered speedboat on Wednesday, amid simmering tensions between the communist island and the US.

MOSCOW, Feb 26 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Thursday that the situation in Cuba was heating up and called for restraint after a deadly incident with a Florida-registered speedboat off the coast of the Caribbean island.

Canada is sending $8 million Canadian (US$6.7 million) in food aid to people in Cuba as the island faces a tightened U.S. embargo and threats of tariffs against countries providing it with oil.

By Simon Lewis BASSETERRE, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Feb 25 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday called for deeper cooperation on tackling criminal gangs as he met Caribbean leaders,

The Kremlin on Thursday said that the situation in fuel-starved Cuba is intensifying after a deadly incident with a U.S.-registered speedboat off the coast of the Caribbean island. "We see that the situation around Cuba is escalating," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters, according to Russian state news outlet RIA Novosti.