Related videos:
A Cuban mother denounced the impunity surrounding her son's case, a young recruit who was shot while in the military unit fulfilling his Mandatory Military Service (SMO), but is now detained awaiting trial, while the officer who shot him remains free.
The case was documented in a report by the independent media CubaNet, which includes the testimony of Yarenni Domínguez Caldevilla, the mother of Deiby Díaz-Pimienta Domínguez, a 19-year-old who was shot on September 20, 2025, at Military Unit 4600, located in El Ocho de La Coloma, in Pinar del Río.
A fight, a weapon, and a close-range shot
According to the maternal account, the events occurred in the early morning, following a dispute between Deiby and Lieutenant Ernesto. The mother denies that her son assaulted the officer while he was sleeping, as the official version supposedly tries to claim.
Domínguez claims that the dispute escalated into a physical fight after the officer started hitting his son. After they were separated, the lieutenant reportedly went down to the guard post, demanded access to the armory, and took an AKM rifle.
"She went upstairs, grabbed an AKM, removed the blanks, and came down with that loaded weapon looking for my son... that is called attempted murder with premeditation," the mother reported to Cubanet.
According to his testimony, the officer entered the company armed, pointing his weapon at other recruits, and ultimately shot Deiby from less than a meter away, hitting him in the right thigh.
The medical odyssey after the shooting
The mother claims that after being shot, the young man was taken on foot to a medical station that had no doctor on duty.
"The nurse didn't know what to do... they didn't even put on a tourniquet," he recounted.
He was later taken to Abel Santamaría Hospital in poor conditions, lying on the floor of an ambulance. He remained there for two days before being transferred to the Military Hospital, where he was admitted for almost two months.
A doctor told the family that the bullet passed just one millimeter from the femoral artery and that he could have bled to death.
Threats from the military hierarchy
During the admission, Domínguez reported shocking comments from a high-ranking military official.
"Major Ortega told me: 'You did well to take the shot... I would have killed him,'" he assured the aforementioned media outlet.
From Home to the Dungeon: The Deception
After recovering at home for weeks, the family received an official call for the young man to return to the Military Hospital. However, upon arrival, he was handcuffed and taken into custody to a military prevention unit.
"Nobody could give me reasons or explanations... I spent the entire night looking for coverage to make a call, and no one gave me any answers," he lamented.
The mother reports that her son was deceived and imprisoned without a clear explanation, while she was ignored by the Prosecutor's Office.
Currently, Deiby remains detained in Pinar del Río, after an attempt was made to transfer him to the military prison El Globo in Havana.
The aggressor remains at large
Meanwhile, the mother claims that the lieutenant who shot is still working normally and sleeping in his own home.
"And the officer who shot him... is free in the military region as if he hadn't committed a crime," he reported. "The law must be the same for everyone."
Deiby is facing charges of disobedience and violence against a superior, and his trial could take months.
A call to Cuban mothers
Domínguez took the opportunity to make a desperate plea regarding the increasing record of abuses in the Military Service: “They are treated like dogs... I have witnessed it,” he stated. He also recalled that many recruits have taken their own lives or have died in alleged “accidents” while in military custody.
"Reflections, mothers, so that tomorrow you won't have to live the pain that I am experiencing today," she concluded.
Filed under: