Cuba says a 5th person died after people on a Florida-flagged speedboat opened fire on soldiers

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HAVANA (AP) — Cuba said a fifth person has died as a consequence of a fatal shootout last month involving a Florida-flagged speedboat that allegedly opened fire on soldiers in waters off the island nation's north coast.

The island's interior ministry said late Thursday in a statement that Roberto Álvarez Ávila died on March 4 as a result of his injuries. It added that the remaining injured detainees “continue to receive specialized medical care according to their health status.”

Authorities in Cuba said that on Feb. 26 Cuban soldiers confronted a speedboat carrying 10 people as the vessel approached the island and opened fire on the troops. They said the passengers were armed Cubans living in the U.S. who were trying to infiltrate the island and “unleash terrorism”. Cuba said its soldiers killed four people and wounded six others.

“The statements made by the detainees themselves, together with a series of investigative procedures, reinforce the evidence against them," the Cuban interior ministry said in its statement, adding that “new elements are being obtained that establish the involvement of other individuals based in the U.S.”

Earlier this week, Cuba said it had filed terrorism charges against six suspects that were on the speedboat. The government unveiled items said to have been found on the boat, including a dozen high-powered weapons, more than 12,800 pieces of ammunition and 11 pistols.

Cuban authorities have provided few details about the shooting, but said the boat was roughly 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) northeast of Cayo Falcones, off the country’s north coast. They also provided the boat’s registration number, but The Associated Press was unable to readily verify the details because boat registrations are not public in the state of Florida.

The shooting threatened to increase tensions between U.S. President Donald Trump and Cuban authorities. The island's economy was until recently largely kept economically afloat by Venezuela’s oil, which is now in doubt after a U.S. military operation deposed then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

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