The panel on Thursday’s RealClearPolitics podcast reacted to the unusual armed confrontation in the Florida Straits that Cuban officials described as a failed “infiltration for terrorist purposes.” Four Cuban nationals are dead, and six are in custody after an apparent gunfight between Cuban forces and a U.S.-registered boat. Carl Cannon described the episode as a poor man’s Bay of Pigs, questioning whether the official account makes sense. “It’s the Bay of Piglets.” “I don’t mean to laugh because four people are dead and six are in prison, but were they drunk? What was happening here? Were they dope dealers? Were they doing it on a dare? Are the Cubans making up the whole story? It doesn’t sound plausible that you’d think a speedboat and a few rifles could take on the Cuban navy,” Cannon said. “So this is either the U.S. government’s idea of a covert op, and it’s a rerun of the Bay of Pigs-but the CIA is 100 times dumber than it was then,” Tom Bevan agreed. “Or it’s just some guys who had a few too many mojitos and decided to get a boat and some Molotov cocktails and go take over Cuba with ten guys? I mean, it is a bizarre story.” “I agree with Secretary of State Marco Rubio – we shouldn’t simply take the Cuban government’s word for it,” Bevan added. “We want to get our own information, do our own investigation, and find out exactly what the hell is going on here.” Andrew Walworth offered some maritime expertise: “They keep referring to this as a speedboat. The boat apparently was registered in Florida and it’s what’s called a Pro-Line 24… I wouldn’t call it a speedboat. It’s kind of a fishing boat. It’s open. It’s a motorboat.” “Twenty-four feet is not very long, and to put 10 guys on that and then a bunch of Molotov cocktails and who knows what else-that’s a pretty overloaded boat to take through the Straits of Florida,” Walworth explained.
RealClearPolitics Videos