A new report of abuse within the Active Military Service in Cuba has come to light this Tuesday with the release of a video allegedly recorded in a unit of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) in Guantánamo.
In the images, a young man in uniform can be seen with a blue barrel covering his head, while other soldiers give orders and force him to bear excessive weight in a constrained position.
The video, shared by the account of TikTok Reflexion.life71, is presented as the “second part” of a series of abuses occurring within Cuban military facilities. The scene has sparked a wave of outrage on social media, where there is a call to identify those responsible and to put an end to the institutional violence that thousands of young people endure during their mandatory service.
This new case comes just hours after another video caused a strong uproar by showing a teenager in a supposed Infantry Unit in San José being kicked and forced to carry a heavy object while squatting, in an evident display of physical punishment. The young man, of slender build, can barely hold the weight that has been imposed on him.
The journalist Magdiel Jorge Castro summed it up harshly: “Those of us who were in the Military Service know that this is a small sample of the real horror”.
The report quickly mobilized users on social media who even managed to identify the officer seen committing the abuses. According to an anonymous witness, the soldier is known for his violent behavior: "He is a tremendous abuser. He was always doing the same thing with the soldiers, testing his strength and being abusive."
The comedian Andy Vázquez also spoke out about this, warning that the recruit may have died after being pushed backwards during a charge. "Behind these abuses are many of the suicides that occur in the Military Service,” he denounced.
Despite the scandal and campaigns demanding justice, the Cuban government remains silent. There are no public investigations or known sanctions, in a context where recruits are viewed as "human resources" of a system that neglects fundamental rights.
These events are not isolated incidents. Last May, two recruits were killed when struck by a bus in the Special Development Zone of Mariel. Also that month, the young Léster Álvarez allegedly took his own life in Ariza prison, where he was serving his duty. One of the most heartbreaking cases was that of the teenager Adrián Rodríguez García, who was hit by a vehicle after leaving his unit with permission but under military responsibility. No one was investigated.
Campaigns against Military Service have gained momentum since the fire at the Matanzas supertankers in 2022, a tragedy that claimed the lives of four recruits. Since then, parents have mobilized, demanding that their children not be used as "cannon fodder" or exposed to inhumane conditions.
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