MIAMI, United States. – The Council of Ministers of Cuba approved a new decree that imposes stricter sanctions for those who fail to comply with Active Military Service (SMA), as well as for those over 16 years of age who hinder, incite or help others to evade what the regime Cuban considers it as “duties with the defense of the homeland.”
He Decree 103/2024published this week in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Cubaestablishes fines that can reach 7,000 pesos, and in some cases, the initiation of criminal proceedings.
The official document, signed by the prime minister of the regime, Manuel Marrero Cruzjustifies that “based on the experience gained in the application of the normative provisions that regulate Military Service, it is necessary to update the contraventions.” In addition, the new regulations repeal the previous Decree 164, which regulated these contraventions since 1991.
The decree establishes that the fines not only affect the offenders, but also the parents or guardians of minors and those on whom the offender depends financially. In cases where the fine is not paid or the imposed obligations are not met, the decree warns that the authorized authority may initiate criminal proceedings.
Likewise, it specifies that those who fail to register in the Military Registry upon turning 16 years of age must face fines of between 2,500 and 5,000 pesos, in addition to the immediate obligation to register. The highest sanctions, up to 7,000 pesos, are aimed at those who do not appear when summoned by the Military Committee or fail to comply with the activities to prepare for Military Service.
Sanctions will also be applied to those who help others to evade Military Service. According to Article 5.1 of the decree, those who “prevent, incite, hinder or help to evade in any way the fulfillment of the duties of citizens related to the defense of the homeland” will also face fines of up to 7,000 pesos.
The decree clarifies that payment of fines must be made within 30 calendar days after their imposition. If this deadline is not met, the fine will be doubled and, if payment is still not made, criminal proceedings will be initiated.
The mandatory nature of Military Service in Cuba (SMA), which is mandatory for men, has been widely criticized by relatives of young people who have died or suffered accidents during their military training period, as well as by human rights organizations.
Between December 31, 2023 and August 2024, at least five young people died on the Island while serving the SMA (three of them committed suicide).
Given the lack of transparency of the Cuban authorities, news about deaths during compliance with the SMA have emerged in independent press media and social networksafter complaints from family and friends.
According to the Cuba Archive (AC), of the 79 documented deaths and disappearances in 2023 and attributed to the Cuban State, 11 occurred during the SMA. Furthermore, of the nine cases registered as “extrajudicial murders”, one is that of a young man who was serving the SMA: Ernesto Miranda was barely 18 years old; His family refuted the official report of alleged suicide.
The non-profit organization, founded in 2001 to promote human rights, reported Likewise, between 2018 and 2023, a total of 24 people died while they were integrated into the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) or the SMA. Of the 54 cases of “extrajudicial executions”, seven correspond to young people who were in the SMA.
In total, Archivo Cuba, with its “Truth and Memory” project, has been able to document 54 cases of young people who died during compliance with the SMA. For its part, CubaNet has prepared a database non-exhaustive that includes 31 cases of young people who died in the SMA between 2005 and 2023.
Both records state that the main cause of death is suicide, one of the 10 main causes of death in Cuba according to the Demographic Yearbook 2022 (where it appears as “intentionally inflicted injuries”). However, the suicide rate in the SMA is not officially reported and, according to María Werlau, executive director of Archivo Cuba, it must be very high: “It is the third cause of death for the group that includes military age in Cuba.”
Other main causes of death are accidents and negligence, as well as lack of medical care.
According to the new Military Penal Code, approved in July 2023 by the National Assembly of People’s Power, those who evade – or attempt to evade – the SMA could suffer up to five years in prison. Young people cannot even claim “conscientious objection” to escape it because in the 2019 Constitution the regime prohibited the use of that justification. Despite this, in May 2022 an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX) of Cuba denied before the UN that recruitment was mandatory.
