Lester Domínguez, the young man from Holguín who was left in a wheelchair after receiving a machete wound to the neck over three years ago, sought assistance this Sunday to complete the 30,000 dollars he needs for surgery in the United States, after obtaining a humanitarian visa.
"Hello everyone, I'm Lester Domínguez, I'm the guy who was attacked with a machete three years ago for being robbed. I now need to raise $30,000 for my surgery in the United States. I have already obtained an emergency humanitarian visa and need to go pick it up on September 11," said the young man in a video posted on Facebook.
Lester assured that he has already gathered more than half of the money thanks to foundations and supportive individuals, and that the funds go directly to the hospital's account that will perform the surgery: "No one touches it, it goes directly to the account."
He asked those who cannot donate to at least share the video: "If you can't, please share the video and tag people so we can reach more individuals. Thank you very much, and may God bless you."
In parallel, his father Dennis Domínguez posted a message explaining the medical urgency of the case: Lester has an inverted vertebra that is progressively compressing his spinal cord, with the risk of becoming paralyzed if not operated on in time.
"Every minute counts here, as the child has an inverted vertebra that is compressing his spinal cord, and will end up paralyzed," the distressed father wrote in his Facebook post.
Lester's ordeal began on March 21, 2023, when he was 16 years old and was attacked with a machete in San Germán, Holguín, in an attempt to steal his Huawei phone.
An incomplete C5 spinal cord injury left him in a wheelchair and subjected him to months of intensive therapy with mechanical ventilation, tracheostomy, pressure sores, pneumonia, and bacterial infections.
Adrián Grass Bermúdez was arrested for the attack, and Lester's phone was found buried in the backyard of his home. The Provincial Prosecutor's Office of Holguín requested a 20-year prison sentence for him for robbery with violence and intimidation, along with an additional four years for the continued theft of two phones belonging to other victims.
The oral hearing took place on May 15, 2024, and the trial was concluded for sentencing. According to Dennis Domínguez, the second individual involved in the assault hanged himself when the police went to arrest him.
In August 2025, after performing an MRI, the doctors confirmed that Lester could undergo surgery in Cuba to correct the inverted vertebrae.
However, the intervention did not receive a definite date, even though the family had to obtain the necessary supplies and medications on their own.
In October, his father requested assistance to obtain an orthopedic collar, deemed essential to protect the young man's neck during his recovery.
The spinal compression progresses: Lester can no longer open his hands or operate his wheelchair independently. On July 1, the young man turned 20, with no date set for the operation, and days later he received an electric wheelchair donated by the Cuban-American Lester Fleites.
Dennis Domínguez expressed his gratitude in his post to Iluminada Valdez, who supported Lester with video calls since he was in intensive care, and to former world boxing champion Yordenis Ugás, who, according to the father, has always been there for the young man in the toughest times.
The father also reported that his son has gone over a year without receiving any kind of assistance from the Cuban government, while the family struggles to gather the money that could improve his quality of life: "Anyone who can donate whatever they can, that account goes directly to the hospital where he will have the surgery, and it seems that his dream is about to come true, to be the same child he was before."
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