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Former model recalls Jeffrey Epstein abuse at private island, speaks out after his death: 'My life spiraled'
Lisa Phillips had big dreams of becoming a top model when she encountered Jeffrey Epstein.
The cover girl, who said she was abused by the late convicted sex offender on his private island, is speaking out candidly in a new podcast, “From Now On.” It aims to raise awareness of human trafficking and how it can impact anyone.
“It took me many years to get to this point,” Phillips, now a model scout and agent in Los Angeles, told Fox News Digital. “I struggled with the confusion of what happened to me years ago.”
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Lisa Phillips is speaking out about meeting Jeffrey Epstein. She claimed the late financier sexually abused her on his private island. (Brett Erickson)
“But as soon as I started speaking to other survivors, I started realizing that my story from so many years ago was the same as those – both the underage girls from Florida and the older girls that were 18-25,” she shared.
Phillips began modeling when she was 16 years old. By 19, she was already heading to fashion capitals, like London and Paris, making her mark. At age 21, she found herself in New York City, where she had booked a photo shoot in the British West Indies.
It was there that a fellow model told her about an island nearby – Little Saint James.
“We had an extra day,” Phillips recalled. “She said, ‘Let’s get out of here. Let’s do something. I have a friend, a really good friend. He’s amazing. He owns an island close by. Let’s see him. He said he would send us a boat, and we could hang out over there.’”
Lisa Phillips is seen here heading to Little Saint James. (Courtesy of Lisa Phillips)
The women boarded a boat and headed to the island. When they arrived, there were other women already there swimming in a pool and “enjoying themselves.”
At first, everything seemed “fine,” said Phillips. They had “a wonderful dinner” before Epstein approached them and introduced himself.
Lisa Phillips detailed her story in the podcast “From Now On.” (Courtesy of Lisa Phillips)
“He was very charming,” she recalled. “He was that type of man who just locked into you and made you feel very special, very safe and so interested in who you were as a person. I never had that attention from a man, not even from my father, expressing that much interest in everything that I was talking about, what I was doing, what my aspirations and goals were.”
“I always remember that he made me feel really special… That’s what he did for everybody.”
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Jeffrey Epstein’s former home on the island of Little Saint James in the U.S. Virgin Islands. (Emily Michot / Getty Images)
However, things took a turn “pretty quickly,” she claimed.
That same night, a woman casually approached her, saying that Epstein wanted a massage. A confused Phillips said she did not know how to give one. The woman nonchalantly told her to “just chill.” After assuring her, Phillips followed the woman’s lead. She felt safe with her.
Phillips claimed that the massage turned into Epstein sexually assaulting her in the room.
“That was the cover I shot the day I went to the island,” Lisa Phillips told Fox News Digital. (Courtesy of Lisa Phillips)
“It wasn’t a straight, ‘Let me pull you into a room and abuse you,’” said Phillips. “He eases into things, like, ‘It’s just a massage, right?’ The girl went along with it and brought me into the room to do this massage with him. It was a slow thing that escalated into abuse. The whole process was very confusing to me.”
Lisa Phillips said she returned to New York City feeling very confused and “filled with shame.” (Courtesy of Lisa Phillips)
“I was on an island,” she said. “I wasn’t in a house where I could say, ‘Excuse me, I need to leave,’ and grab my stuff. I was far away from home on an island I should never have been on.”
Phillips later learned that multiple women, like her, alleged that they were assaulted by Epstein under the guise of a massage.
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Lisa Phillips said things took a turn quickly on the day she met Jeffrey Epstein. (Neil Rasmus/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
She returned to New York City filled with shame.
“After that, my life spiraled,” Phillips admitted. “I started doing drugs and drinking… I felt like I was tarnished, or something was wrong with me that I didn’t stand up for myself… And everybody looked up to Jeffrey at the time.
“During those years, he wasn’t a playboy who hung out in the scene. People talked about him highly. When I would bring up his name to people, they would say, ‘We love Jeffrey. He did this for me. He got me a visa. He introduced me to my husband. He put me through school.’ It was always these big things that he did for people. That was confusing for me.”
Lisa Phillips has a podcast, “From Now On,” which aims to educate listeners on sexual abuse and human trafficking. (Brett Erickson)
Phillips also pointed out that the incident occurred in the early 2000s, long before the #MeToo movement where victims of sexual abuse came forward publicly with their accounts. At that time, she said, “You would never speak out about somebody like that with that kind of power.”
Phillips said she “suppressed” the shame and confusion she felt as Epstein portrayed himself as a mentor wanting to help.
“Nobody talked about the creepy massages and what was happening,” she said. “It was all hush-hush… He was influential, and he was manipulative. He groomed you to believe that he was your mentor.”
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Jeffrey Epstein appears in a photograph taken for the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services sex offender registry on March 28, 2017 and obtained by Reuters on July 10, 2019. (New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services/Handout via REUTERS)
In 2006, Epstein was arrested over allegations that he had hired teenage girls to give him sexualized massages at his Florida home.
Two years later, prosecutors allowed Epstein to plead guilty to a charge involving a single victim. He served 13 months in a jail work-release program then quietly started rebuilding his network of influential friends, with the help of his socialite former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell.
After a series of Miami Herald stories about the plea bargain that deprived Epstein’s victims of justice, federal prosecutors in New York revived the investigation and charged Epstein in 2019 with sex trafficking.
Virginia Roberts Giuffre holds a photo of herself at age 16, when she says Palm Beach multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein began abusing her sexually. (Emily Michot/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Epstein reportedly created and maintained a “vast network” and operation from 2002 “up to and including” at least 2005 that enabled him to “sexually exploit and abuse dozens of underage girls” in addition to paying victims to recruit other girls.
Prosecutors said that victims would be escorted to a room with a massage table where they would perform massages on Epstein.
At the time of Epstein’s arrest, prosecutors said they found a trove of pictures of nude and seminude young women and girls at his $77 million Manhattan mansion. They also say additional victims have come forward since the arrest. He pleaded not guilty.
Jeffrey Epstein is seen here with Ghislaine Maxwell, who is now serving her sentence at a low-security federal prison in Tallahassee, Florida. (Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
On Aug. 10 of that year, Epstein was found dead behind bars. He was 66. The cause of death was suicide.
When Epstein killed himself in jail, prosecutors charged Maxwell with facilitating his illicit sexual encounters and participating in some of the abuse. The 62-year-old was convicted and is serving a 20-year prison term.
Phillips said that while she hated her abuser, she cried after learning of his death.
Lisa Phillips admitted she cried after hearing of Jeffrey Epstein’s death, something that confused her. (Brett Erickson)
“I didn’t know why,” she explained. “He was a bad guy, but I had good thoughts about him too… I just had this emotional breakdown of confusion. But if he was still alive, I probably would’ve had way too much fear to speak out. I probably would have never spoken out. But… I was willing to finally talk about what happened to me. I needed answers.”
Phillips went on to testify in a 2022 civil case involving another Epstein accuser, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, USA Today reported. She also filed as a Jane Doe under the Adult Survivors Act, citing abuse by an Epstein associate. According to the outlet, she received a settlement in a case involving JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Epstein accusers.
“The pain is in the numbers,” she explained. “You can go through some type of abuse and deal with it on your own… but when you start hearing about other women who had the same experiences with Jeffrey and others, it does something to your psyche,” she said.
JEFFREY EPSTEIN’S SEX TRAFFICKING ACCOMPLICE GHISLAINE MAXWELL LOSES APPEAL
David Boies, representing several of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged victims, center, arrives with Annie Farmer, second right, and Virginia Giuffre at federal court in New York on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2019. Epstein, a convicted pedophile, killed himself in prison earlier that month while awaiting trial on charges of conspiracy and trafficking minors for sex. (Mark Kauzlarich/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“… And when I started speaking to the other survivors, that’s where I felt validation… That’s when I felt safe to talk about my experience without people shaming me. I wasn’t alone.”
Today, Phillips hopes her podcast will provide a platform for other victims who are healing, like her.
“I want people to know that there’s a place where you can come and be heard,” she said. “I also want to educate people on how to advocate for themselves, and look out for red flags while you’re building your career. Because this can happen in any kind of business.”
Lisa Phillips wants her podcast to be a “safe space” for other victims of abuse to share their stories without fear. (Brett Erickson)
“I feel different today than I did yesterday,” she reflected. “It’s getting better. But I’m ready to start speaking out. And I’m ready to help others speak out, too.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Trump, BBC agree on mediator for $10 billion lawsuit over Jan 6 documentary editing controversy
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President Donald Trump and The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) agreed on a mediator on Tuesday to help resolve the president’s $10 billion lawsuit.
The BBC has come under intense scrutiny over a 2024 Panorama documentary about Trump’s Jan. 6, 2021, speech delivered before the riot at the U.S. Capitol. Critics called the documentary misleading because it omitted Trump’s call for supporters to protest peacefully. Trump sued the BBC in December for both defamation and for a violation of Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act for $5 billion apiece, seeking $10 billion total.
While ABC and CBS have both settled lawsuits with Trump in the past year, the BBC has vowed to fight the case. The two sides agreed on John W. Thornton, Esq., to serve as a pretrial mediator, who will seek a resolution.
President Donald Trump and The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) agreed on a mediator on Tuesday to help resolve the president’s $10 billion lawsuit. (Patrick van Katwijk/Getty Images)
“The BBC defamed President Trump by intentionally and deceitfully editing its documentary in order to try and interfere in the Presidential election. President Trump will continue to hold accountable those who traffic in lies, deception, and fake news,” a spokesperson for Trump’s legal team told Fox News Digital.
The BBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump’s suit, filed in the Southern District of Florida Federal Court, was filed in a personal capacity and named the BBC and BBC Studios Productions as defendants. The parties have proposed a mediation session the week of Oct. 26. Mediation, a standard case management step required by the court, is contingent on the outcome of a jurisdictional challenge the BBC is expected to submit later this month.
“As we have made clear previously, we will be defending this case. We are not going to make further comment on ongoing legal proceedings,” a BBC spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
LEGAL ANALYST PREDICTS TRUMP COULD WIN ‘CONSIDERABLE’ DAMAGES FROM BBC DOCUMENTARY LAWSUIT
President Donald Trump has tangled in the courts with several media organizations. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
The BBC previously issued an apology for the erroneous edit and said it had pulled the program from its platforms, but a spokesperson for the broadcaster added, “While the BBC sincerely regrets the manner in which the video clip was edited, we strongly disagree there is a basis for a defamation claim.”
The controversy began with a bombshell report from The Telegraph that featured excerpts from a whistleblower dossier compiled by Michael Prescott, a communications advisor hired by the BBC to review its editorial standards.
The whistleblower revealed that the BBC “Panorama” documentary released in 2024 had a misleading edit of comments Trump made at the rally that preceded the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
The documentary omitted Trump urging his supporters to protest “peacefully” and instead spliced two separate comments made nearly an hour apart, making it appear he was calling for violence.
“We’re going to walk down to the Capitol. And I’ll be there with you. And we fight — we fight like hell,” the documentary showed Trump saying, with no indication the statements came far apart.
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In reality, Trump said, “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol. And we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women, and we’re probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them because you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong.” It was 54 minutes later that Trump called on his supporters to “fight like hell” for election integrity.
The New York Times referred to the ordeal as “one of the worst crises in its 103-year history” of the BBC. The blunder led to the resignations of BBC News CEO Deborah Turness and BBC director-general Tim Davie.
Turness insisted in an interview last week that the BBC does not have any institutional bias against Trump.
Trump’s legal team suggested the defendants “timed the publication of the Panorama Documentary to be close in time to the 2024 Presidential Election” and the value of the president’s “personal brand alone is reasonably estimated to be worth tens of billions of dollars.”
Fox News Digital’s Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
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Police warned prosecutors 3 times about violent illegal immigrant before he allegedly killed Virginia mother
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Newly uncovered emails show the Fairfax County Police Department warned the county’s commonwealth attorney about a criminal illegal migrant with more than 30 previous arrests at least three times before he allegedly stabbed a mother to death in the Washington, D.C., area.
Abdul Jalloh, 32, was charged with murder after allegedly stabbing 41-year-old Stephanie Minter to death at a bus stop in Fairfax County, Virginia, in late February.
Jalloh, an illegal immigrant from Sierra Leone in West Africa who had lived in Virginia since the age of 9, was arrested at a liquor store one day after the stabbing when an employee called 911 to report Jalloh was shoplifting.
Abdul Jalloh, 32, is accused of killing Stephanie Minter, 41, at a Virginia bus stop. (Fox 5 DC)
According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Jalloh entered the country in 2012 and has more than a dozen arrests in northern Virginia.
His criminal history includes more than 30 arrests for charges of rape, malicious wounding, assault, drug possession, identity theft, trespassing, larceny, firing a weapon, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and pick-pocketing, yet his charges were dropped by local prosecutors almost every time, according to DHS.
Emails obtained by WJLA showed the Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD) warned Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano’s office about Jalloh on at least three occasions, but no action was taken to remove him from the country.
In an email to Fairfax County Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Jenna Sands, a Fairfax County police major said he wanted to bring Jalloh’s release to her attention because he “is one of the repeat (and violent) offenders” they had previously discussed.
Abdul Jalloh on a bus in Virginia (Fairfax County Police Department)
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“I wanted to get your background on why he is out so soon and ask if his prior suspended sentence (of I believe 5 years) was pursued by your office? Unfortunately, based on MTV Station’s numerous dealings with him, it is not a question of if, but rather when he will maliciously wound (or worse) again. My role of keeping the public safe, prompts me to follow up on his status,” the major wrote.
In another email discussing a bond alert from August 2025, a FCPD employee told Assistant Police Chief Brooke Wright that Jalloh had more than 100 incidents with FCPD resulting in multiple charges spanning from theft to violent crimes, according to the outlet.
“JALLOH’s offenses began with domestic violence incidents and escalated to assaulting other victims and threats with weapons (knives),” the employee wrote in the email. “He has been involved in multiple stabbing incidents with victims identifying him as the offender in these cases. This year JALLOH has been the offender in a malicious wounding where he stabbed a man in May 2025, in which he received a bond on July 31, 2025 — three weeks later, this incident occurred where he assaulted an older male and stomped his head into the ground.”
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The employee added a list of Jalloh’s criminal history to the email, which included:
2014: Assault on family member (nolle prossed)
2015: Assault on family member (nolle prossed)
2017: ID theft to avoid arrest (guilty)
2017: Assault (guilty)
2018: Possession of marijuana (guilty)
2018: Destruction of property (guilty) — Original charge: malicious shoot/throw occupied building
2018: Contributing to the delinquency of a minor (nolle prossed)
2018: Rape (nolle prossed)
2018: Grand larceny (nolle prossed)
2022: Trespassing (nolle prossed)
2023: Trespassing (guilty)
2023: Disorderly conduct (guilty)
2023: Possession of a schedule three substance (guilty) — Original charge: possession of a schedule one or two substance
2023: Malicious wounding (nolle prossed)
2023: Malicious wounding (guilty) — Sentenced to seven years, with five years suspended to probation
2023: Stealing property from a person (nolle prossed)
2024: Petit larceny (nolle prossed)
2024: Trespassing (nolle prossed)
2024: Petit larceny (nolle prossed)
2024: Disorderly conduct (nolle prossed)
2024: Malicious wounding (nolle prossed)
2024: Failure to appear in court (dismissed)
2025: Malicious wounding
*Nolle pressed refers to a prosecutor’s formal decision to drop criminal charges.
In response to the email, Wright said Sands “had a specific conversation regarding them prosecuting without a victim in court for the stabbing given the circumstances, and she was on board with a victimless prosecution.”
In a May 2025 email obtained by WJLA, police emailed Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano’s office — including Sands and other prosecutors — warning that Jalloh “has a history of stabbing community members and was on probation during the most recent assault.”
“For those reasons and the reasons outlined in the document, we ask that you argue he continues to be held at the ADC,” an officer wrote.
The email also explained a May 4, 2025, incident in which Jalloh allegedly stabbed a man in the leg while he was sleeping with his girlfriend.
“Without hesitation, the Victim stated that Jallow was the person who stabbed him. Jalloh has been charged with numerous Malicious woundings and been convicted of one in 2023 and [is] currently out on probation for the aforementioned crime and living in an OAR provided motel room,” the officer wrote.
OAR is a nonprofit in Fairfax County that provides “alternatives to incarceration” for criminals.
VIRGINIA MURDER SUSPECT IN BUS STOP STABBING HAD LENGTHY CRIMINAL HISTORY, MULTIPLE DROPPED CHARGES
Similar to the other email, the officer included a list of prior police involvement, including an incident from April 14, 2024, during which Jalloh allegedly stabbed a homeless man in the head and upper body while he was sleeping at a bus stop, telling him, “get up, you can’t sleep here.”
Later that same day, Jalloh allegedly stabbed a woman in the head after attacking her and stealing her money, according to the email.
Other incidents included Jalloh allegedly choking a woman, stomping on her, burning her chest and raping her in October 2018, stabbing a person inside a McDonald’s in January 2023 and stabbing an elderly man in February 2023.
The email also said police had a record of 178 incidents, citing Jalloh as a known shoplifter and noting he “is often intoxicated/high and located w/narcotics on his person.”
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger has said DHS would need to provide a signed judicial warrant from a local judge to ensure that Jalloh is deported. (Department of Homeland Security/Getty Images)
“DANGER This individual has a long history of stabbing community members and is currently on probation for doing that very thing,” the officer wrote. “He has shown a blatant disregard for human life and is a danger to the community.”
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said his department “respect[s] the criminal justice system and the distinct roles and responsibilities of each entity within it.”
“In previous cases involving this defendant, our officers and detectives conducted thorough investigations, made lawful arrests, and presented evidence for prosecution,” Davis wrote. “The court outcomes are in no way related to any shortcomings associated with the FCPD. This defendant must be held accountable for his actions. We remain committed to our role to ensure that happens.”
DEM GOVERNOR UNDER FIRE AFTER ILLEGAL ALIEN ALLEGEDLY STABS WOMAN TO DEATH AT BUS STOP: ‘HEINOUS’
Despite Jalloh’s criminal history and the recent killing of Minter, Democratic Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger said she would not honor a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer, which is a written request for law enforcement to maintain custody of a person for up to 48 hours after their scheduled release to allow for transfer to ICE custody.
A governor’s spokesperson told WJLA that DHS would need to provide a signed judicial warrant from a local judge to ensure that Jalloh is deported.
“Sanctuary [Gov. Abigail Spanberger] is fighting to protect a MURDERER over American citizens,” DHS wrote in an X post. “This monster is responsible for fatally stabbing Stephanie Minter. ICE does NOT need judicial warrants to make arrests.
“The heroes of ICE will continue to arrest and remove criminal illegal aliens across the Commonwealth while Governor Spanberger RELEASES them from jails into Virginia communities to commit more crimes and create more victims.”
In early February, Spanberger ended cooperation with state agencies and federal immigration authorities through an executive directive, claiming she had “serious concerns that chaotic federal law enforcement actions across the country are eroding years of trust,” adding immigration enforcement “contributes to a culture of fear and distrust.”
A Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office spokesperson told Fox News Digital the office “was aware of Jalloh’s criminal history and shared police concerns about potential future dangerousness. That is why our Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney personally handled these cases.”
The spokesperson said prosecutors “will often explore many different pathways to successful prosecution, but, at the end of the day, our decisions are constrained by what testimony is available and what is legally permissible and practicable in Fairfax courts.”
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Spanberger’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Preston Mizell contributed to this report.
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Family member of American killed by Cuban forces in boat shootout says he was on ‘diabolical’ mission
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The brother of an American citizen killed in a brazen boat clash with Cuban forces says his sibling was consumed by an “obsessive and diabolical” push to free the island and that “no one knew” what he was planning.
American citizen Michel Ortega Casanova, who worked as a truck driver, was one of 10 passengers on a Florida-registered boat that allegedly opened fire on Cuban soldiers in an attempt to infiltrate the island.
A Monroe County Sheriff’s Office incident report obtained by Fox News noted the boat’s owner reported it stolen Wednesday after hearing about the Cuba shootout on the news.
The owner, who did not speak English, told deputies his 24-foot vessel went missing, and he suspected an employee named Hector — who had two young daughters in Cuba — may have taken it.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed an incident involving Cuban forces and a speedboat Wednesday before returning to Washington, D.C., after meetings with Caribbean Community leaders at Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport in Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis. (Jonathan Ernst/Pool/Reuters)
Ortega Casanova, who lived in the U.S. for more than two decades, was one of four killed in the attempt. He is survived by his wife, mother, brother, two sisters, daughter and unborn grandchild.
Six other passengers, all Cubans living in the U.S., were injured. It is unclear if Hector was on board.
Ortega Casanova’s brother, Misael, told The Associated Press Wednesday that his brother had an “obsessive and diabolical” pursuit for Cuba’s freedom.
“Only us Cubans who have lived over there understand [the great suffering],” Misael said.
He said “no one knew” about his brother’s plans to infiltrate the island, noting their mother is “devastated.”
“They became so obsessed that they didn’t think about the consequences nor their own lives,” Misael said.
While Ortega Casanova’s family did not recognize any of the other passengers, Misael said, “maybe [the attempt] will justify that some day Cuba will be free.”
CUBA IS APPROACHING ITS BERLIN WALL MOMENT — AMERICA MUST HELP THEM BREAK THROUGH
Cuban Coast Guard forces reported an exchange of gunfire with a U.S.-registered speedboat Wednesday. (Yamil Lage/AFP via Getty Images)
He refrained from labeling the group heroes, describing the idea as “ignorance.”
Cuban officials said many of the boat passengers, who were intercepted roughly a mile northeast of Cayo Falcones, off Cuba’s north coast, had a known history of criminal and violent activity.
Passengers Amijail Sánchez González and Leordan Enrique Cruz Gómez were wanted by Cuban authorities for their involvement in the “promotion, planning, organization, financing, support or commission of actions carried out in the national territory or in other countries, in connection with acts of terrorism,” according to the government.
Cuban politician Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla posted to X after the incident, claiming a “rigorous investigation” is being conducted to clarify the facts.
CUBA IDENTIFIES 32 MILITARY PERSONNEL KILLED IN US OPERATION AGAINST MADURO REGIME IN VENEZUELA
“Cuba has had to face numerous terrorist and aggressive infiltrations originating from #EEUU since 1959, at a high cost in lives, injuries, and material damage,” Rodriguez Parrilla wrote in a post. “The defense of Cuba’s coasts, of the national territory, and of national security is an ineludible duty.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. is working to determine whether the passengers were American citizens or permanent residents.
U.S. officials said at least two of the people on the bat were U.S. citizens, and another was on a U.S. K-1 visa — which is granted to fiancées of U.S. citizens for 90 days.
“We have various different elements of the U.S. government that are trying to identify elements of the story that may not be provided to us now,” Rubio told reporters in Basseterre, St. Kitts.
“Suffice it to say, it is highly unusual to see shootouts in open sea like that. It’s not something that happens every day. It’s something, frankly, that hasn’t happened with Cuba in a very long time.”
Cuban officials said the vessel’s passengers were intercepted off the country’s northern coast. (Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto)
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Rubio said the U.S. will verify the facts independently, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Coast Guard are investigating.
Vice President JD Vance said he was briefed on the incident, and the White House is monitoring the situation.
“Hopefully it’s not as bad as we fear it could be,” Vance said.
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Florida’s Attorney General James Uthmeier said prosecutors will work with federal, state and law enforcement partners to start an investigation.
“The Cuban government cannot be trusted, and we will do everything in our power to hold these communists accountable,” Uthmeier wrote in a social media post.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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