Russia says situation is escalating after boat incident

“We see that the situation around Cuba is escalating,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters, according to Russian state news outlet RIA Novosti.

“The most important thing is the humanitarian component. Of course, the humanitarian issues of Cuban citizens must be resolved, and no one should create obstacles,” Peskov said.

The comments come shortly after Cuba’s interior ministry said border guards killed four exiles and wounded six others onboard a Florida-tagged speedboat that entered its territorial waters.

The 10 passengers of the vessel were said to have opened fire on a Cuban patrol off the northern coast of the island.

The individuals, all of which were Cuban nationals residing in the U.S., were armed and some had previous criminal records, Cuba’s interior ministry said. It added that assault rifles, handguns, improvised explosive devices and camouflage uniforms were among the items seized from the boat.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the incident as “highly unusual” and said the White House would “respond appropriately” once it had conducted an independent investigation.

Cuba is currently grappling with a worsening economic crisis amid a U.S. oil blockade.

The Trump administration has effectively cut Cuba off from Venezuelan oil since launching a military operation to seize Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3. Cuba said 32 of its citizens were killed in the attack.

U.S. President Donald Trump has since said Cuba’s government poses “an unusual and extraordinary threat” and pledged to impose tariffs on any country that supplies it with oil.

Cuba, which has condemned U.S. pressure, has adopted measures to protect essential services and ration fuel supplies for key sectors.

The United Nations has warned of a possible humanitarian “collapse” in Cuba as the country’s oil supplies dwindle.

Mexico, for its part, sent a new shipment of humanitarian aid to Cuba this week. The ships set sail from the port of Veracruz on Tuesday with a total of roughly 1,200 metric tons of food supplies, according to Mexico’s Foreign Ministry.

“The people of Mexico maintain their tradition of solidarity with the peoples of Latin America, and particularly with the people of Cuba. Our country has always provided assistance to our sister nations in need,” the ministry said in a statement.

The food supplies are expected to arrive in Cuba on Saturday.