Man killed on speedboat off Cuba lived in US for 20 years and had an “obsessive” search for Cuba

The brother of one of the men who was killed after taking a US-registered vehicle. speed boat in Cuban waters and allegedly opened fire on the country’s border patrol, said his brother was obsessed with overthrowing the Cuban government.

Misael Ortega Casanova, brother of Michael Ortega Casanova, told the News that his brother had fallen into an “obsessive and diabolical” quest to free Cuba from its communist government. Cubans in the United States and Cuban Americans have long protested against the current Cuban government and accused the island’s leaders of human rights violations.

“They became so obsessed that they didn’t think about the consequences or their own lives,” Casanova said of his brother and the nine other men who were aboard the ship.

The Cuban government said Wednesday afternoon that a speedboat registered in Florida had entered Cuban waters carrying weapons and 10 Cuban citizens living in the United States. The group was allegedly planning to carry out a terrorist attack on the island, the Cuban government said, and had assault rifles, handguns, Molotov cocktails, bulletproof vests, telescopic sights and camouflage uniforms aboard the vessel. Cuba’s Interior Ministry said the 10 passengers had “a known history of criminal and violent activity.”

A border patrol vessel approached the speedboat and opened fire on it, the government said. Border Patrol returned fire, killing four people and wounding the other six passengers. The six injured passengers were arrested and received medical assistance, the Cuban government said.

“Cuba will defend itself with determination and firmness against any terrorist and mercenary aggression against its sovereignty and national stability,” President Miguel Díaz-Canel stated this Thursday.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that the U.S. government does not have any information other than what Cuban authorities have said. He said the Department of Homeland Security, the Coast Guard and other agencies are investigating the incident.

“We will find out exactly what happened here and respond accordingly,” Rubio said. At another news conference, Vice President JD Vance said the White House is monitoring the situation.

Tensions between the United States and Cuba have increased recently, and President Trump put new sanctions and tariffs in the Caribbean country after the Operation to capture the former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.

Michael Ortega Casanova is the only deceased person on the boat to have been identified so far. The injured passengers have been identified as Amijail Sánchez González, Leordan Enrique Cruz Gómez, Conrado Galindo Sariol, José Manuel Rodríguez Castelló, Cristian Ernesto Acosta Guevara and Roberto Azcorra Consuegra. Their identities have not been confirmed by the United States.

A seventh person, Cuban citizen Duniel Hernández Santos, was arrested on the island of Cuba. He alleged that he had been sent from the United States “to guarantee the reception of armed infiltration,” the Cuban Interior Ministry said.

Casanova told the News that his brother, who was a truck driver and American citizen who lived in the United States for more than 20 years, did not tell anyone about his plans. He was married and his daughter is pregnant, Casanova said. Casanova told the AP that his mother “is devastated” by his death. He said he hopes his brother’s death will lead to change.

“Maybe this justifies that one day Cuba will be free,” he said.