A young man from Matanzas is imprisoned for refusing to serve in the military.

Anisleydis Suria, a Cuban mother from Cárdenas, Matanzas, reported on social media that her son was imprisoned this week for refusing to join the Military Service.

The boy, who goes by the name of Sergio Díaz Suria, was arrested on Monday under circumstances that his mother did not specify.

"Yesterday, August 19, my heart was broken when they told me that you had been imprisoned just for the simple reason of not wanting to be in the Mandatory Military Service, but don't worry, my love, your mother is here to do the impossible for you," the young man's mother stated.

"From there, my love, we will soon be together again. I love you, my child," added the woman, who received encouragement from family members in the comments section.

As of the closing of this note, there are no other confirmed details about the incident that ended with a young Cuban from the Service in prison.

CiberCuba has contacted the mother of the teenager with the intention of gathering information about what happened.

In recent years, many young people have refused to serve, which unfortunately has in many cases ended in tragedy.

Unfortunately, the tragic events involving teenagers during compulsory Military Service are becoming increasingly common, although in all cases the Cuban government tries to silence such incidents.

Numerous reports on social media have highlighted a growing number of deaths among young Cubans related to military service, many of which are due to suicide.

The Government of Cuba denied before the UN that Military Service is mandatory.

In May 2022, thousands of Cubans reacted with outrage on social media when a regime diplomat claimed at the United Nations, during a session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), that military service in Cuba is "voluntary."

The statement manipulated the content of the National Defense Law, where the mandatory nature in the case of men is explicitly stated.

In its Third Section (Article 77), that law states that "male citizens, during the year they turn sixteen years old, are obligated to formalize their registration in the military registry."

The regulations also state that "once registered in the military registry, citizens are required to fulfill activities aimed at their preparation for incorporation into Military Service and to keep their status duly updated."

In 2019, Cuban military courts ordered the enforcement of penalties for military recruits who self-harm in order to be discharged, a common practice in recent decades, resulting in not a few regrettable incidents.

The mandatory nature of Military Service has been systematically criticized by Cubans, who even on social media promote campaigns to pressure for its elimination.

However, the reality indicates that recruitment did not stop even during the coronavirus pandemic, something that was severely criticized by the public.