Cuba arrested Christian Evangelical pastors Luis Guillermo Borjas and Roxana Rojas, the Madrid-based outlet Diario de Cuba reported on Tuesday, for presenting medical evidence at a trial demonstrating that their son Kevin Lay Laureido Rojas is not fit to fulfill the regime’s compulsory military service.
Borjas and Rojas are Evangelical pastors from the Assemblies of God church who reside in Mella Vaqueros, a village in Cuba’s Isla de la Juventud. Diario de Cuba reported that their son is facing trial for escaping from the facility where he was forced to serve the compulsory military service. According to Cuban independent journalist Yaiset Rodríguez Fernández, the pastors’ son is facing up to four years in prison for fleeing from the compulsory conscription.
“They took him away, he couldn’t stand it and escaped to his house. There they went to look for him and put him in jail,” an unnamed source told Rodriguez Fernandez.
Diario de Cuba reported that a medical commission had already declared Kevin Lay Laureido Rojas unfit for military service due to the years-long psychiatric problems he has suffered. His mother, Pastor Roxana Rojas, has a heart condition and must undergo annual checkups. The mother’s and son’s respective medical conditions were confirmed by Cuba’s Assemblies of God in a Facebook post in which the church called for prayers and hoped for their release.
“We ask for prayers for brothers Luis Guillermo Borja Navarro and Rosanna Rojas Betancourt, (heart disease) pastors of Meya Vaquero in La Isla de la Juventud and their son Kevin Lay Laureido Roja (with psychiatric disorders),” the post read, “who for some misunderstanding are detained, we hope that soon all things will be clarified and happily we have him with us. Let us join in prayer.”
The communist Castro regime mandates two years of compulsory military service for men between the ages of 18 and 28. Cuban men have repeatedly denounced for years that the compulsory conscription is akin to a prison “sentence,” as they are subjected to abuse, mistreatment, and extreme repressive circumstances during the service.
The inhumane conditions have led to alarming cases of young Cuban men committing suicide to escape from the compulsory service, as well as cases of depression and other mental health issues. Cuba-focused outlets have described the suicide of young Cuban men during their service as one of the Cuban Army’s best-kept secrets due to the Castro regime’s complete lack of transparency.
In April, 19-year-old Cuban man Orlando Lago Portelles committed suicide while in compulsory service at a military base in the province of Holguín. Lago Portelles reportedly took his own life by shooting himself with a firearm.
In November, 18-year-old Nesky Gabriel Escalona was found dead after having been missing for several days. An unnamed source told Martí Noticias at the time that Escalona Ortiz had warned his sister-in-law about “something unusual” that he preferred not to talk about over the phone and that he could only explain in person. According to the source, the young man hinted that he might be the victim of some kind of mistreatment within the unit.
“In recent weeks he was clearly depressed, no longer wishing to remain in the unit and persistently asking his mother to remove him, going so far as to imply that he would have to disappoint her if he continued there,” the source said.
In June 2024, 20-year-old Leandro Muñoz Zamora died from wounds he received after he jumped from the window of a bus while being transferred to another military facility to continue his compulsory service. A private investigation published in August 2024 found that at least five young Cuban men died while participating in compulsory military service between December 2023 and August 2024, three of whom committed suicide.
In May 2023, 18-year-old Maikol Arcia Hernández took his own life by shooting himself in the head. His grandfather, Julio César Correa Hernández, denounced at the time that publications of his grandson’s suicide had been censored outside of alternative outlets. Correa Hernández further denounced that his grandson suffered from mental health issues that Cuban military officials did not take into consideration during the compulsory service.
In January, nine young Cuban men serving the compulsory military period died after two explosions occurred at a “war material” ammunition depot in the eastern municipality of Melones, Holguín. The explosion killed 13 Cuban military officials.
Diario de Cuba pointed out that, despite the number of Cuban men who have lost or taken their lives during the compulsory military service, the Castro regime punishes those who evade military service with up to five years in prison. In October, the Castro regime imposed new measures against anyone over the age of 16 that “impedes, incites, hinders or helps to evade the fulfillment” of the compulsory service, which the communist regime describes as “duties with the defense of the homeland.”
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