A young child is among five dead after a speed boat carrying Cubans collided with a Cuba Coast Guard vessel, Cuban authorities said. The Cubans were trying to make it to the United States when the Cuban Coast Guard vessel tried to stop it and it turned over.
In a press release, the Ministry of the Interior, or MININT, the agency overseeing the Coast Guard, said the collision happened when the government vessel was “identifying” the boat carrying the migrants. One man, three women and a minor died, and 23 people were rescued, MININT said.
The statement, published Saturday, said the boat sank north of Bahía Honda, a coastal town west of Havana, but did not mention when the events took place. It adds that the speedboat departed from U.S. territory, violated Cuban national waters and was part of a human trafficking operation. MININT also blamed the U.S. government for the incident.
