A speedboat shootout off the coast of Cuba has left Miami's Cuban exile community puzzled and searching for answers. Ten heavily armed men were intercepted by the Cuban coastguard near Cayo Falcones on Wednesday, resulting in four deaths and six injuries. The men, who had stolen a speedboat in Florida, were dressed in camouflage and carrying assault rifles, handguns, homemade explosives, ballistic vests and telescopic sights. Cuba's government said they also possessed containers bearing symbols of counter-revolutionary organisations.
The incident has drawn comparisons to the ill-fated 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion, but many in Little Havana expressed bewilderment. 'Didn't we stop doing that years ago?' asked Javi González, a local office worker. The identity and motives of the group remain unclear. At least two US citizens were among the group, with one confirmed dead. Others included permanent residents and visa holders, coming together from various parts of Florida.
One of the deceased was Michel Ortega Casanova, a Tampa truck driver and member of a Cuban exile group. His brother Misael described the mission as an 'obsessive and diabolical' quest for Cuba's freedom. The funding source is also unknown. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a son of Cuban immigrants, denied any government involvement and announced a US inquiry.
Sociologist Guillermo Grenier of Florida International University noted parallels to 1960s exile groups like Alpha 66, but said such adventurism is outdated. 'The post-revolution days were long gone,' he commented, suggesting unrealistic 'made in Miami' plots have become common in recent years.
