The mother of the young Cuban Antonio Alejandro Ressi Roque publicly denounced the lack of official responses, seven months after her son's death while serving Mandatory Military Service in Havana. In a video shared on social media, Mercedes Roque expressed the pain and indignation she has faced since the recruit's passing, which occurred on August 18, 2025, at military unit 5050 in Calvario.
"Seven months, seven months since the death of Antonio Alejandro Ressi Roque, on August 18, 2025, in the 5050 of Calvario, seven months during which I have been asking for clear and precise answers, and all I get are excuses and more excuses," she stated in a video posted on social media. The mother directly questioned the military authorities and emphasized that the responsibility to clarify what happened lies with them: “You investigate it, because my son died in your care, he didn't die at my house, he died in yours, not mine.”
She also reported the treatment she received from a staff member of the Military Prosecutor's Office. "You are obstructing the investigation because you have information that does not help us," she recounted being told by a lieutenant colonel identified as Tamara. The woman described the situation she faces each time she approaches the institutions in search of answers as "outrageous" and "disgusting": "It is outrageous, disgusting for me as a mother every time I stand before you."
In her testimony, she also reported a presumed cover-up within the official structures. "It's a fixed mat where everyone hides behind one another, covering for each other, where the blame never falls on the one who is really involved," she stated. According to her account, she has even been identified as responsible for hindering the process: "They try to shift it, as she told me, making me the one to blame."
The mother also made a direct appeal to other Cuban families to refrain from sending their children to Mandatory Military Service. “No more mandatory military service in Cuba, mothers, stand up, mobilize, do not send your children to mandatory military service,” she expressed, describing this system as “a structure that serves only to destroy families and exterminate the youth in Cuba.”
Ressi Roque, 18 years old, died in that military unit under circumstances that have not been publicly clarified. His death occurred in a context marked by other cases of young individuals who have died during Mandatory Military Service. Days later, another recruit, Lázaro Daniel Monteros, 19 years old, died in a unit in Havana under conditions that have also not been clarified, with conflicting reports about what happened.
In recent years, family members and activists have repeatedly denounced the lack of transparency regarding these incidents, as well as the absence of public accountability for deaths that occurred during military service. So far, there have been no official updates on the investigation into the death of Antonio Alejandro Ressi Roque.
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