The Cuban Embassy in the U.S. released a list identifying seven out of the 10 men in a Florida-registered boat involved in a shooting at sea on Wednesday morning off the Villa Clara province.
Michel Ortega Casanova was among the four killed who were in the boat registered in Florida as FL7726SH, according to Cuban officials.
The six men injured were Amijail Sánchez González, Leordan Enrique Cruz Gómez, Conrado Galindo Sariol, José Manuel Rodríguez Castelló, Cristian Ernesto Acosta Guevara, and Roberto Azcorra Consuegra, according to Cuban officials.
Sánchez González and Cruz Gómez “are currently under criminal investigation and are wanted by Cuban authorities for their alleged involvement in the promotion, planning, organization, financing, support, or execution of terrorist acts,” according to Cuban officials.
Martí Noticias, a Miami-based U.S. government-funded broadcaster, identified Galindo Sariol as a former political prisoner in Cuba.
Ortega Casanova was born in Cuba, had lived in the U.S. for more than 20 years, was a naturalized U.S. citizen, and had an “obsessive” quest for Cuba’s freedom, his brother Misael Ortega Casanova said, according to The Associated Press.
Others identified over alleged associations
Cuban officials also announced that Duniel Hernández Santos was arrested in Cuba and accused of traveling from the U.S. “to facilitate the landing and reception of the armed group.”
In Miami-Dade County, Angel Montera, who lives in Miami Lakes, is the owner of the Florida-registered boat the Cuban officials reported. On Wednesday afternoon, after the Cuban government’s report, Montera reported the boat stolen at 31532 Ave. G, in Big Pine Key, records show.
Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputies listed Hector Cruz, the owner of a 2026 Chevy truck abandoned at 31532 Ave. G, in Big Pine Key, as a suspect in the theft of the boat at about 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, records show.
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