HAVANA, Oct 19 (Reuters) – Cuban law enforcement officials on Monday alleged that the US was allowing terrorists to operate with impunity on American soil, citing details of an investigation into a February speedboat incursion that led to a gun battle at sea, deaths and injuries on both sides.
On February 25, 10 Cuban exiles attempted to infiltrate the island nation by boat from the Florida Keys, armed with nearly 13,000 rounds of ammunition, 11 rifles, 15 handguns, Molotov cocktails, a VHF radio and Starlink satellite communication equipment, according to the Cuban investigation that was described by state-run media on Monday. Five were killed; the rest, including some who were wounded, are in custody and face terrorism charges, authorities said.
Cuba said on Monday that its investigation, which included confessions from those detained by its authorities, found that some of those involved in training insurgents remain at large in the US.
“It is also important to highlight … the crimes still being committed today by individuals and organizations that, from within the United States, provided the property used to carry out these acts, arranged and secured land and maritime transport, and facilitated the purchase and stockpiling of weaponry,” said Cuban prosecutor Edward Roberts.
Cuban authorities accused Maritza Lugo Fernandez, a Cuban national residing in Florida, of helping to organize the alleged plot. Some of those detained confessed they had trained on a farm property in Florida owned by Lugo Fernandez, who leads the Florida-based “Partido Democrático 30 de Noviembre,” or the Democratic Party of November 30.
Lugo Fernandez denies the allegations.
“For more than 40 years, that regime has accused me of being a terrorist – of everything they can possibly come up with … ,” she said in a clip included in the state-run media report. “Personally, I live with peace of mind; I’m not concerned about what they say because I am very clear – fully aware – that it is all a lie.”
Neither the US Embassy in Cuba nor the US Department of Justice responded to a Reuters request for comment on the Cuban government’s allegations.
Cuba and the FBI previously said they were cooperating on the investigation.
According to Cuban authorities, several of those detained in February said they planned simultaneous attacks on police and border guard units in Matanzas, a province just east of Havana, with the goal of inciting an armed uprising and triggering a US military intervention.
The accusations come as the US has piled pressure on Cuba’s government, including a nine-month de facto fuel blockade and reinforced sanctions that have led to an unprecedented economic crisis on the island.
The US has called the Cuban government corrupt and says it is seeking a change in leadership there.
(Reporting by Ayose Naranjo and Dave Sherwood; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus)
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