Cuba reports collision of speedboat from the U.S.

Cuban authorities reported Saturday on the collision of a speedboat from the United States with a surface unit of the Border Guard Troops, north of Bahia Honda, in the western province of Artemisa.

According to an official note from the Cuban Ministry of the Interior (MININT), as a result of the collision, the vessel, which violated Cuba's territorial waters in a human trafficking operation, sank.

Two other units of Border Guard Troops quickly joined the search and rescue of the boat's passengers.

The information specifies that "23 people were rescued, including five deceased (one man, three women and one minor)".    Cuban authorities are investigating to clarify this painful event, adds the note.

MININT reported that these events derive from the hostile policy of the U.S. government against Cuba, which tolerates and encourages illegal departures by allowing irregular migrants to remain in its territory.