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A rare shootout on the high seas involving a Florida-registered speedboat andten Cuban nationalsbelieved to be living in the United States has triggered investigations in Washington and Havana.

Cuban authorities said that when the boat was intercepted in its territorial waters on Feb. 25 those aboard were carrying assault rifles, handguns, improvised explosive devices, bulletproof vests and other tactical military gear. Four were killed. Six were arrested. Another man was detained in Cuba accused of aiding the men on the boat.

Cuba's Interior Ministryhas accused all of the people involved of taking part in a terrorist plot, though officials in Washington have not corroborated that accusation. Cuba has identified one of the four men killed as Michel Ortega Casanova. It said it was still working to identify the other three.

But what do we know about the ten men involved in the latest escalation between two Cold war-era foes?

US interventions in Latin America.What they say about Trump's Venezuela gambit

Who were the people involved in the Cuba speedboat shooting?

Among those detained, according to Cuban authorities, were:

• Amijail Sánchez González

• Leordan Enrique Cruz Gómez

• Conrado Galindo Sariol

• José Manuel Rodríguez Castelló

• Cristian Ernesto Acosta Guevara

• Roberto Azcorra Consuegra

• Duniel Hernández Santos was identified as the man arrested on Cuban soil.

Cuba has said that the majority of the participants in the incident have a history of criminal and violent activity. There does appear to be some accuracy to that assertion.

USA TODAY has reached out to Washington and inquired about their status in the United States. U.S. officials were not immediately available for comment.

Orlando Gutierrez-Boronat, of the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance, an exile group that opposes the Cuban regime, warned not to put too much credence into details of the incident emerging from the Cuban government.

His name appears on the same Cuban terrorist list as Sánchez González for allegedly starting an anti-Castro guerilla group − that was actually created six years before he was born.

"They have a history of lying and committing crimes," Gutierrez-Boronat said. "Why should we believe anything they say, especially at a moment like now when there's real pressure on them?"

This file photo shows a group of U.S. sailors from the battleship Connecticut and a gun they captured at Cape Haitien during the U.S. occupation of Haiti in 1915.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Officers at Jacmel, Haiti, during the U.S. occupation in 1915.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> A group of Cuban revolutionaries with Fidel Castro are seen with artillery after routing the U.S.-backed invasion at the Bay of Pigs in 1961.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Children cheer on the U.S. Marines following offensive in Vecca Monte west of Panama City, during "Operation Just Cause," the U.S. invasion to remove Manuel Noriega, which lasted from December 1989 through January 1990.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> A U.S. Marine corps crew takes up position on the outskirts of Santo Domingo, on May 2, 1965, during the Dominican Civil War.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> The U.S. Army Airborne troops drive down a street in Santo Domingo during the occupation of the Dominican Republic in 1965.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> U.S. troops in full combat gear run on the docks of Port-au-Prince harbor, on Sept. 19, 1994, after arriving on an assault helicopter. Thousands of U.S. soldiers arrived in Haiti on Sept. 19, 1994, as part of "Operation Uphold Democracy," to pave the way for the restoration of the elected president Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Hundreds of local residents run towards the U.S. Chinook helicopters, on Sept. 24, 1994, as a detachment of over 100 U.S. troops arrive in this small southern coastal town, 120 km south of Port-au-Prince, as part of the "Operation Uphold Democracy."

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

From Cuba to Panama: US interventions that shaped Latin America

This file photo shows a group of U.S. sailors from the battleship Connecticut and a gun they captured at Cape Haitien during the U.S. occupation of Haiti in 1915.

Amijail Sánchez González

Sanchez Gonzalez, 47, was arrested in Miami-Dade County in 2020 and charged with aggravated battery of a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest, fleeing the scene of a crime, reckless driving and property damage, according to public records. He spent over a year in jail. Two years later, he was back in jail on charges of tampering with an electronic monitor, a felony offense. He was also one the two men detained this week who Cuba's Ministry of Justice previously added to its "international most wanted" list, which also includes members of Miami's exile community dating back to 1999, according to a justice ministry "gazette" sent to USA TODAY by a Cuban official.

Sanchez Gonzalez lives in a suburb of Miami-Dade County just south of Miami.

In the justice ministry gazette, Sánchez González was accused of inciting an act of sabotage against the Municipal People's Court of Central Havana in 2022. And in 2023, Cuban authorities said he smuggled firearms, ammunition and other supplies across the northern coast of Cuba's Matanzas Province "with the purpose of carrying out terrorist acts against military units." He was allegedly financed by supporters residing in the U.S.

Separately, in a 2023 news bulletin from Cuban officials identifying alleged wanted terrorists,Sanchez Gonzálezwas among those named. A translated report by government media at the time showed a photo of Sanchez González that matches social media photos and videos promoting Cuban liberation found by USA TODAY.

In one of those video posts, the man who appears to be Sanchez González calls out PresidentDonald Trumpfor speaking about taking over Cuba as president but doing nothing to make liberation happen. The man uses Spanish curse words to punctuate frustration and urgency for change.

"We are going to fight for Cuba," he said multiple times in the post. Later, he said, "I have the balls to do what needs to be done now." He thanks America for welcoming him as a refugee and giving him a life back, including the opportunity to start a family. "But I want to die how real men die."

US and Cuba:A contentious relationship through the years

Leordan Enrique Cruz Gómez

Cruz Gómez, also 47, was the other man added to Cuba's "international most wanted list."

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Authorities opened up an investigation into him in 2025 for "sabotage activities" carried out in Villa Clara, Cuba, for which another Cuban citizen was arrested and prosecuted. A person with the same name as Cruz Gómez appears to have last resided at an address in Tampa, Fla., according to public records, which also associated that name with criminal activity, several arrests and the ownership of hunting and fishing licenses.

It was not immediately clear if they were one and the same person.

Neither Sánchez González nor Cruz Gómez were available to comment on the allegations. Attempts to reach potential family members or representatives in Cuba and the U.S. were not immediately successful.

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Conrado Galindo Sariol

Posts on an Instagram account that appears to belong to Galindo Sorial alternate between videos of him offering deals on cars in a Miami used car lot and photos and interviews with prominent Cuban exiles advocating for a free Cuba.

In a March 2025 interview on the Radio Martí podcast, a hardline Cuban exile advocacy show, Galindo Sorial described how his mother was a teacher and his father fought alongside Castro's troops in the Sierra Maestra but later became disillusioned with the regime.

Beginning around 1991, Galindo Sorial became involved with the opposition in Cuba, distributing anti-Castro pamphlets and writing underground articles against the regime, before landing in a prison in Camaguey. He later left for Miami.

In the interview, Galindo Sorial said he dreams of a free Cuba, where all Cubans have equal rights and the ability to defend their homeland.

"Cuba is a jewel of the Americas," he said. "Before I die, I would like to see her free."

Roberto Azcorra Consuegra

There is scattered information about the other men alleged to be involved in the speedboat operation.

According to public records, a man with the name Roberto Azcorra Consuegra, 45, last lived at an address in Miami. Over a period of five years, the address and name were associated with dozens of reports of criminal activity. The name and address also match the apparent owner of a Miami-based a carpet-cleaning company.

A man who appeared to be Azcorra Consuegra's father answered the phone to a USA TODAY reporter, identified himself and promptly hung up. However, it wasn't immediately clear if Azcorra Consuegra was even in Cuba.

In a television interview on Feb. 26 with a localNBC affiliate in Florida, a man who identified himself as Azcorra Consuegra said he was surprised to learn his name was on the list issued by Cuba's Interior Ministry because he was at that moment in South Florida and not on the island. He also denied knowledge of any plans to go to Cuba.

Asked why he believed the Cuban government would put his name on the list and accuse him of terrorism, Azcorra Consuegra said: "They know me. They know me well, they know it all."

U.S. and Cuba: What now?

Cuba's government has accused the 10 people aboard the speedboat it intercepted off its coast of planning "an armed infiltration with terrorist aims." The U.S. has said little about the incident, though its top diplomat, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, has said that Washington was investigating the "highly unusual" incident.

Rubio said it was not a U.S. government operation and that he wasn't "going to speculate about whose boat it was, what they were doing, why they were there, what actually happened."

The episode comes at a time of increased tension between the U.S. and Cuba, longtime adversaries. It also comes less than two months after American forces seized Cuba's close ally,Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, in a raid that has had severe economic and humanitarian consequences for Cuba.

Venezuela has supplied Cuba's oil for more than two decades. In the wake of the U.S. operation, Washington imposed an oil embargo on Cuba. However, in recent days it has moved to ease those restrictions as Cuba's Caribbean-nation neighbors have warned that the embargo could destabilize the entire region.

Contributing: Francesca Chambers

Kim Hjelmgaard, Rick Jervis and Jayme Fraser are all reporters of USA TODAY Investigations team.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Who were the 10 people in the deadly Cuba speedboat shootout?

The National Trust for Historic Preservation sued the Trump administration in December over the sprawling ballroom project and asked for a preliminary injunction, claiming the White House has been carrying out the construction unlawfully because Trump hadn't gotten approval from Congress or submitted his plans to the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts for review, which would give the public a chance to weigh in.

The president has been personally involved in ballroom details, from floor plans to marble selection. The sprawling ballroom project has an estimated size of approximately 89,000 square feet, according to lead architect Shalom Baranes. By contrast, the primary White House structure, the Executive Mansion, is just 55,000 square feet.

Trump has maintained that the project isn't subject to any oversight and that he should be able to continue with it without any serious scrutiny.

Thursday's ruling from senior US District Judge Richard Leon focuses on the Trust's choice to use the Administrative Procedure Act to challenge the project. The judge concluded the law was an an inappropriate tool for the Trust, in part because the White House office for the president's executive office and the office over his residence – which are managing the ballroom's construction – aren't agencies that a court could curtail under the law.

"Unfortunately for Plaintiff, its challenge fails because the White House office in question is not an 'agency' under the APA and because Plaintiff did not bring theultra viresclaim necessary to challenge the President's statutory authority to complete his construction project with private funds and without congressional approval!" Leon wrote.

The Trust, Leon said, raised "novel and weight issues" in the case and could potentially restructure the lawsuit to test the president's authority in a different legal approach.

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In a Truth Social post, Trump called the ruling "Great news for America, and our wonderful White House!"

He added: "The Ballroom construction, which is anticipated to also handle future Inaugurations and large State Visits, is ahead of schedule, and under budget. It will stand long into the future as a symbol to the Greatness of America!"

The Commission of Fine Artsapproved the projectafter the lawsuit was filed.

CNN has reached out to the Trust for comment.

The lawsuit, filed last year after the East Wing had been completely demolished, hasforcedthe administration to make public details about the project that had otherwise been kept under wraps, including plans for a reimagined two-story East Colonnade revealed in December filings; information about the preservation of existing artifacts from the now-destroyed East Wing; and an expected timeline for construction.

CNN's Austin Culpepper, Devan Cole, Tierney Sneed, Katelyn Polantz and Kit Maher contributed.

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NEW YORK, Feb 26 (Reuters) - The Kansas state government has invalidated the driver's licenses and birth certificates of transgender residents who changed the gender ‌on those documents, in accordance with a law that took effect on Thursday.

The ‌move affects more than 1,000 people. The law requires residents to change their gender identification to the sex they ​were assigned at birth, and also bans residents from changing their gender on those documents in the future.

Affected residents must pay for their new driver's licenses.

The law also requires transgender people to use bathrooms and locker rooms in buildings owned or leased by government entities that match their ‌sex assigned at birth.

INCREASING RESTRICTIONS ⁠ON TRANSGENDER AMERICANS

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Transgender people in the United States have faced increasing restrictions at the state and national levels. Republican President Donald Trump has taken ⁠a particularly hard line since returning to office last year, issuing multiple executive orders limiting transgender rights.

One Trump directive stated that the U.S. government will recognize only two sexes, male and female. Another ​sought to ​exclude transgender athletes from female sports.

The new Kansas ​law "puts transgender people in danger any ‌time they interact with law enforcement or apply for a job or for housing or public benefits," said Harper Seldin, a senior staff attorney with the LGBTQ and HIV Project at the American Civil Liberties Union.

"The mismatch between how they present themselves in the world and their driver's license puts them at risk of discrimination or violence, and so that's why ‌many trans people choose to change the sex markers ​on our licenses so that we can live as ​ourselves in society and keep ourselves ​safe."

Kansas residents were permitted to change their gender markers on driver's licenses ‌and birth certificates until 2023, when those ​changes were halted amid ​litigation initiated by the state's Republican attorney general, Kris Kobach. Last year, the courts permitted transgender residents to once again make those changes. State lawmakers then introduced the ​bill enacted into law after ‌the Kansas legislature overrode Democratic Governor Laura Kelly's veto.

Seldin said the ACLU expects ​to file a lawsuit challenging the law by the end of Friday.

(Reporting by ​Helen Coster; editing by Donna Bryson, Rod Nickel)