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Lázaro Daniel Monteros, a young man from Avila, only 19 years old, passed away while completing his Military Service in the unit of El Morro, in Havana.
The report was initially shared by crime reporter Niover Licea and was confirmed on social media by acquaintances of the deceased young man, whose premature death has sparked an outpouring of anger and grief.
Licea said that Monteros' death is surrounded by contradictory accounts and warned about the lack of official transparency.
"A mere two days after Mandatory Military Service claimed the life of Antonio Alejandro Ressi, another young Cuban from Ciego de Ávila, identified as Lázaro Daniel Monteros, lost his life at the Morro unit under strange circumstances that have not been properly clarified to his family, Licea reported."
Add that "three different versions prevail, including an impact to the head, but it is unknown what or how."
"He had just turned 19, and the dictatorship has cut short his dreams. Rest in peace, champion, strength to your family and to your parents. Justice!” concluded the news reporter.
Pain of loved ones and acquaintances
Numerous social media users, who identified themselves as neighbors and acquaintances of Lázaro Daniel, have expressed their sorrow and dismay at the loss:
"He was my neighbor, and his sister studied with me, a calm and intelligent boy from a family that never got involved with anyone. A family-oriented child, well-mannered and raised by his mother. The neighborhood is in mourning today, and all of us neighbors are left with a void due to his loss. Rest in peace," wrote Jeila González.
Another message posted by Yanerzon González revealed that the young man had only one day left to complete his time in the unit:
"EPD my brother, may God have you in glory. There was only one day left, and you would have been home with us. God will make the one responsible for what happened to you pay. Rest in peace."
For her part, Marisel Paz publicly lamented that the young man's dreams of pursuing a university degree were extinguished
“Rest in peace, my condolences to family and friends. They extinguished his dreams of pursuing a university degree, but the one who killed his dreams must pay dearly for it. I do not know his family, but people who did know him tell me he was an exceptional young man. Fly high beside the Almighty God," revealed the cited source.
A call to Cuban mothers
Amid the pain, voices have also emerged calling for families to refuse to send their children to military service.
Maribel Hernández, who identified herself as aunt of Antonio Alejandro Ressi, the other young man who recently passed away, expressed her solidarity with Lázaro Daniel's family.
"I am the aunt of Antonio Ressi Roque, the boy we lost on Monday the 18th in the Calvario unit. I have no words to express the immense pain felt in going through this. I join you in your grief. Let us stand together, mothers, grandmothers, aunts... all women, and let us not allow our children to go to their death. May this little angel rest in peace," she wrote.
So far, the military authorities have not issued any official communication regarding the death of Lázaro Daniel Monteros.
Second death in Military Service in less than a week
On August 18, Antonio Ressi Roque, 18 years old, died in the El Calvario Military Unit in Havana after self-injury, as confirmed to the independent media elTOQUE by sources close to his family.
On Tuesday of this week, the recruit was mourned and buried in the capital of the island, where authorities continue to refuse to take responsibility for the deaths of young people during their military service.
In recent years, the number of victims of this mandatory program has increased, whether due to accidents, untreated illnesses, suicides, or abuses in military units, the publication reported.
According to the testimony of Félix Alfredo González, the father of a recruit who died in 2021, at least seven young people have died between July and August 2025 while serving in the military.
González -who has become one of the most critical voices against the mandatory Military Service- declared to elTOQUE that Cuban authorities do not take responsibility for justice or for compensating families.
"The government turns a deaf ear," denounced the man, who has been seeking justice for the death of his son for years.
The death of Antonio Rassi reignites criticism of Mandatory Military Service, a policy that has been in place since 1963 and has recently even summoned adolescents with serious health issues.
Last July, a young Cuban just 18 years old, from the El Gabriel community in the municipality of Quivicán, Mayabeque province, passed away while serving in the Active Military Service after experiencing severe pain and physical discomfort for several days, without the responsible officers providing him with adequate medical attention.
Even the parents requested to take him home due to the deterioration of his health, but they were not allowed to do so, according to the young man's relatives.
Various organizations and Cuban parents argue that military service has become a space of risk and mistreatment for adolescents and young people, and they demand that the government put an end to forced participation.
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