#cuba-coast-guard-incident

#cuba-coast-guard-incident

Members of a convoy that delivered humanitarian aid to Cuba were detained and interrogated by Customs and Border Protection upon returning to the United States on a charter flight from Havana.

The Justice Department has formed a working group to examine possible federal charges against officials or entities within Cuba's government, according to an official familiar with the group. Officials from government agencies including the Treasury Department will be part of this group. Treasury's involvement could mean the Trump administration is considering further sanctions against Cuba, already the subject of intense U.S. economic sanctions.

The decision to send humanitarian assistance to Cuba was announced during a press conference on Friday to mark the end of the four-day Caribbean Community (Caricom) meeting in St Kitts and Nevis, which secretary of state Marco Rubio attended to discuss US relations with Caribbean governments.

Havana says it is ready for constructive engagement' with Washington as White House moves to choke off oil supplies. The Cuban government has rejected accusations that it poses a threat to the security of the United States, insisting that it stands ready to cooperate with Washington. The Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on Monday calling for dialogue and stressing that the Caribbean island does not support terrorism.

Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations, the Southern Command said in a statement. The command included a video of the strike with its announcement, which shows a boat traveling through the water as it explodes into flames after being hit with what looks like a missile. The Southern Command and the Pentagon did not immediately return requests for additional information.

At the direction of the commander of U.S. Southern Command, Marine Gen. Francis L. Donovan, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted three lethal kinetic strikes on three vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations, Southern Command said in the statement, which as has become customary was accompanied by a video showing the boats exploding after being hit by a missile. Intelligence confirmed the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes and were engaged in narco-trafficking operations, it added.

President Sheinbaum called for dialogue and pledged to send more supplies as soon as the two ships return to Mexico. Two Mexican ships bearing humanitarian aid have docked in the harbour of Cuba's capital Havana, as the United States continues its efforts to cut the island off from outside fuel supplies. On Thursday, pedestrians on Havana's seawall watched as the ships, one of which was the Papaloapan, unloaded white pallets on shore.