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Mercedes Roque, mother of the young Cuban Antonio Rassi Roque, who passed away on August 18 while fulfilling his Mandatory Military Service (SMO), publicly demanded a transparent investigation and accountability from the officials of the military unit where the events took place.
In a message posted on her account, the woman expressed her pain and frustration over the impunity following the death of her son: "Today I went to visit you at a place where you didn’t belong yet… your departure was a reaction to an action filled with a lack of humanity. I demand a meeting with the unit chief, the politician, the platoon leader, and the officer in charge of the guard."
According to reports, Antonio Rassi, only 18 years old, died at the Military Unit 50 of Calvario in Havana, just a few hours after speaking to him on the phone: “What happened between 8:55 in the morning when I spoke with my son and 2:45 p.m.? They, just like me, know that something happened,” he questioned.
Roque believes that the death of his son was a direct consequence of a hostile and negligent environment within the military unit: "It was simply a reaction to an action provoked in the unit."
Among the irregularities she points out, the lack of attention to her son's emotional and physical state stands out.
"Where were the officials who did not see his depressive state, his lack of hygiene, and the dirty uniform, considering he only had one?" She also affirms that she was never informed about the conditions the young man was experiencing, despite other recruits noticing his decline.
The mother also reported that she was not attended to on several occasions when she tried to approach the military unit: “I went on the 15th and 24th and was not attended to. On September 30th, after insisting, I was met by a commission with a lieutenant colonel from the Prosecutor's Office who had no direct connection to what had happened.”
Roque argues that he still has not received a clear explanation nor has he been heard by the authorities who were in charge of his son in his final days of life.
The case of Antonio Rassi brings the criticized Mandatory Military Service in Cuba back into the spotlight, which has been in place since 1963 and has accumulated reports of young deaths under unexplained circumstances in recent years.
Independent organizations and affected families are denouncing a culture of impunity and lack of transparency within the Cuban military system.
According to testimonies collected by the media elTOQUE, at least seven young people died between July and August 2025 while fulfilling their military service.
One of the most prominent cases was that of Félix Alfredo González, father of a recruit who died in 2021, who has become a critical voice against the system. “The government turns a blind eye,” González stated, demanding justice for his son and for other victims.
In July of last year, another 18-year-old youth died in the municipality of Quivicán, Mayabeque, after days of physical discomfort without receiving adequate medical attention. According to his family, they had requested to take him home due to the deterioration of his health, but the unit did not allow it.
In her post, Mercedes Roque emphasizes that she will not remain silent: “I am entitled to demand a meeting with the officials in charge. I delivered it in good condition on July 28. Today, I demand answers.”
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Revolutionary Armed Forces has not issued any official statement regarding this case or other similar incidents that have occurred this year
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