Cuba has named the "terrorists" it shot dead on an American speedboat after an alleged Bay of Pigs-style "infiltration" plot.
Four people were shot dead and six more were injured after Cuban authorities opened fire on a US-flagged “violating speedboat”, which approached the coast of Villa Clara, a province in the centre of country.
Cuba’s Interior Ministry said the speedboat was registered to the state of Florida, but was found in Cuban waters on Wednesday morning, local time.
It said the group was comprised of anti-Government Cubans, some of whom were previously wanted for plotting attacks.
They came from the US - a 90-mile journey by sea - dressed in camouflage and armed with assault rifles, handguns, homemade explosives, ballistic vests and telescopic sights, Cuba said.
Border troops approached the vessel for identification, however, the crew of the speedboat allegedly opened fire on the Cuban forces, killing the vessel's commander.
The communist country said it identified the six detainees from the boat, two of whom were previously wanted in Cuba on suspicion of planning terrorist acts against Cuba: Amijail Sanchez Gonzalez and Leordan Enrique Cruz Gomez.
The other four were identified as Conrado Galindo Sariol, Jose Manuel Rodriguez Castello, Cristian Ernesto Acosta Guevara and Roberto Azcorra Consuegra.
In addition, Cuba said it detained another Cuban man in Cuban territory, Duniel Hernandez Santos, who had come from the United States to the island in order to receive the infiltrators.
PICTURED: The hospital where the so-called 'terrorists' were being treated after being hauled in by Cuban officials on Thursday
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One of the dead was identified as Michel Ortega Casanova, while the other three dead had yet to be identified, Cuba said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio went on to confirm the run-in was not a US operation and that no US Government personnel were involved.
The speedboat, registration number FL7726SH, came within one nautical mile of a channel on Falcones Cay, on the north coast of Cuba about 120 miles east of Havana.
Communist officials said the country “reaffirms its determination to protect its territorial waters, based on the principle that national defense is a fundamental pillar of the Cuban State in safeguarding its sovereignty and ensuring stability in the region”.
The incident comes amid rising tensions between the United States and Cuba, as the island faces a deepening fuel crisis.
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James Uthmeier, Florida’s Attorney General, said he has ordered prosecutors to work with federal, state and law enforcement partners to start an investigation.
He said: “The Cuban Government cannot be trusted, and we will do everything in our power to hold these communists accountable.”
Florida Congressman Carlos Gimenez - a Cuban-American and former Mayor of Miami - said he would demand an investigation into what he called a “massacre”.
He said that US authorities "must determine whether any of the victims were US citizens or legal residents".
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Cuban exiles, largely concentrated in Miami, have long pushed to overthrow the Cuban regime - and have in the past plotted against the Government that was established by the dead communist leader Fidel Castro, who died in 2016 at age 90.
Cuban exiles with support and financing from the US carried out the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, an event which strengthened Castro's grip over the island.
And Wednesday's deaths come amid rising tensions between the US and Cuba as the island grapples with a worsening fuel crisis.
Havana’s energy shortages have been exacerbated by US efforts to block oil shipments from Venezuela, one of Cuba’s closest regional allies.
Though on Wednesday afternoon, the Americans said they would move to allow the resale of Venezuelan oil to Cuba.
The US's Secretary of State Marco Rubio is meeting Caribbean leaders as the Trump administration seeks to intensify pressure on Cuba’s government
| GETTYThe development also coincides with a diplomatic visit by Mr Rubio to St Kitts and Nevis.
The Secretary of State is meeting Caribbean leaders as the Trump administration seeks to intensify pressure on Cuba and address more general security concerns in North America.
Meanwhile, Britons travelling to and from Cuba run the risk of being stranded after authorities confirmed that all airports across the island nation have run out of jet fuel.
The British Foreign Office has issued updated travel advice for Cuba as a result.