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The mother of the young Cuban Antonio Rassi Roque, who passed away in August 2025 while serving in the Mandatory Military Service (SMO), raised her voice again on social media with a message of sorrow and denunciation.
“His only desire was to live, achieve his goals, and enjoy his life, friends, and family… He did not want to rest yet,” wrote Mercedes Roque on Facebook. In her post, she also holds the structure of the SMO responsible for her son's death and demands that the case not be forgotten.
Antonio Rassi, 18 years old, died on August 18, 2025, at the El Calvario Military Unit in Havana. According to the official version, the young man took his own life. However, his mother claims that his death was related to the environment within the military unit.
Reports of irregularities
Since shortly after the incident, Mercedes Roque has publicly denounced alleged irregularities, a lack of attention to her son's emotional state, and obstacles in obtaining clear explanations about what happened.
She has stated that she was never informed of the conditions in which the young man was, despite other recruits noticing his physical and emotional deterioration. She also claims that after the death, she faced difficulties accessing the military unit and receiving official information.
"Something happened," insists the mother, recalling the last phone call she had with her son before he went on duty, just hours before his passing.
So far, the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (MINFAR) has not issued a detailed public statement regarding the case.
A broader context of deaths in the SMO
The case of Antonio Rassi adds to other young deaths recorded during the Mandatory Military Service, a program in effect in Cuba since 1963.
According to testimonies gathered by the independent outlet elTOQUE, at least seven recruits are reported to have died between July and August 2025 while serving in the military, due to causes that include accidents, untreated illnesses, suicides, and alleged abuses.
Félix Alfredo González, father of another recruit who died in 2021, has stated that the authorities do not take responsibility or provide compensation to the families. "The government turns a deaf ear," he declared.
In recent months, the death of an 18-year-old in Mayabeque was reported, who, according to family complaints, had expressed significant physical discomfort for several days without receiving adequate medical attention.
Criticism of Military Service is growing
Various independent organizations and families of recruits question the mandatory nature of the service and argue that conscription has become a risky space for adolescents and young people.
Meanwhile, Mercedes Roque continues to demand justice. "Not as an activist or an opponent," she has said, "but as a Cuban mother who sent her son off healthy and received him back dead."
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