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Ángel Ernesto, a young man from Santiago de Cuba, passed away early Sunday morning after being crushed by a tank during a military maneuver, according to testimonies collected by independent journalist Yosmany Mayeta Labrada.
The accident occurred while the young man was performing Mandatory Military Service (SMO) and was described as the result of reckless maneuvering.
After the incident, Ángel Ernesto was transferred to the Dr. Joaquín Castillo Duany Military Hospital in Santiago de Cuba, where he remained for several days in intensive care fighting for his life.
He passed away in the early hours of this Sunday, "leaving behind pain, indignation, and many unanswered questions among his family, neighbors, and acquaintances," according to the journalist.
Neighbors of the young man say that "he did not want to go to military service, but was taken from his home by prevention agents and brought to an institution where he met his death."
Cuban military authorities have not issued any official statement regarding the incident, which is a common practice of the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces in such accidents.
The body of Ángel Ernesto was laid to rest at Santiago Funeral Home, and his burial is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. this Sunday.
The case falls within an alarming pattern of deaths within the Cuban SMO.
According to an analysis by the Civic Thought Lab Cuba x Cuba based on data from Cuba Archive, at least 67 recruits died between 2018 and early 2026: 27 due to self-inflicted causes, 16 due to serious negligence, 14 from accidents, four due to denial of medical attention, and three due to crime.
In 2025 alone, the organization Cubalex documented at least 19 deaths of young individuals during their time as recruits, which led human rights organizations and independent media to label the SMO as a machine that takes lives without accountability.
Santiago de Cuba has been the backdrop for several of these tragedies. In December 2025, Eldis Leyva Nieves, 19 years old, originally from the Guamá municipality in that province, died during shooting practice in Guantánamo while fulfilling his compulsory military service.
In March 2026, Dailier Rodríguez Tamayo, 19 years old, died at the military unit 10-24 in El Cotorro, Havana, under circumstances that were also not officially explained.
SMO has been mandatory in Cuba since June 1963, and the National Defense Law requires males to register for military service upon turning 16, with no realistic possibility of objection.
"Another tragedy that mourns a Cuban family and highlights the blood price that continues to be paid for a service that no one chose," concluded Mayeta Labrada.
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