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A new tragic event has once again shaken the Mandatory Military Service in Cuba. A young soldier, just 19 years old and identified as Eldis Leyva Nieves, died on Thursday, December 18, after being seriously injured during military training at a shooting range in the province of Guantánamo.
According to the independent journalist Yosmany Mayeta Labrada on Facebook.
According to the information released, the incident occurred around 2:15 PM, when a rocket detonated in the air during a military exercise. The explosion caused fragments of the device to strike several of the soldiers present at the scene.
Eldis, who was part of Military Unit 2431 of the Border Brigade, was urgently transferred to the Dr. Agostinho Neto General Teaching Hospital in Guantánamo.
Despite receiving specialized medical attention, the young man passed away at 6:38 PM, just four hours after the accident, due to the severity of his injuries.
In the same incident, a captain from the Artillery Regiment, identified as Eduardo Maturel García, was also injured and remains in the observation room of the hospital. According to the report, his condition is stable and he has sustained less serious injuries.
A young man with his life ahead of him
Eldis Leyva Nieves was a native of Ocujal del Turquin, in the Guamá municipality, Santiago de Cuba. He had recently completed his studies in Nursing and was serving in the military when the fatal accident occurred.
His family is deeply affected by the loss. The young man is being kept for a few hours, but his body will be preserved in the cold room, awaiting the arrival of his father, Erdys Leyva Isasc, who currently resides in Venezuela.
Eldis's family has a long history connected to public service and education. His father was the director of the Ocujal Basic Secondary School, while his mother, Yuselis, has worked as a teacher for many years.
The young man was a twin, although it has not yet been revealed whether his brother was also a recruit or not.
Official silence and persistent risks
So far, no official information has been released regarding the technical causes that led to the rocket's explosion or any potential responsibilities related to the incident.
No statements have been issued by the military authorities or the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces either.
The death of Eldis Leyva Nieves once again brings to the forefront the risks of Mandatory Military Service, especially when it involves recently graduated youth, whose life projects are cut short in exercises that include the use of live ammunition.
Cases like this are repeated in a context marked by a lack of transparency and the absence of public information about the safety conditions in military practices.
As his family and community mourn the loss of a young man who was just beginning his adult life, social unrest increases in response to a system that many see as coercive and lacking in guarantees, where the State avoids taking responsibility for the consequences of the deaths of young people during military service.
The death of Eldis is part of a series of recruit fatalities in recent years, linked to accidents, untreated illnesses, suicides, and alleged abuse in military units.
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