Cuban forces kill 4 aboard US-registered boat: New war front opens up days before Iran conflict?

Cuban border forces opened fire on a Florida-registered speedboat near Cayo Falcones off Cuba’s northern coast on February 25, killing four people and wounding six others after the vessel allegedly violated Cuban territorial waters and fired first on a Cuban patrol boat commander. The high‑stakes clash, coming amid a deep economic crisis on the island and intensifying U.S.–Cuba friction as Washington chokes off vital oil supplies and weighs broader military moves in Latin America and against Iran, is stoking fears that a fresh flashpoint could open just as a wider U.S.–Iran confrontation looms in the Gulf.