Father of Lester Domínguez Seeks Financial Support for Son's Humanitarian Visa: "We Need Everyone's Help"

Dennis Domínguez, the father of young Cuban Lester Domínguez Ortiz, has launched an urgent public campaign on Facebook. He seeks a humanitarian visa for his son to undergo surgery in the United States, aiming to address the lingering effects of a machete attack he suffered in 2023.

"We need everyone's help to see if we can operate on young Lester for his inverted vertebra. Every minute counts," Dennis stated in his post, highlighting that more than three years have passed since the vicious assault changed his son's life.

"The vertebra is compressing him to the point of paralysis," he emphasized.

In another message, Dennis appealed for assistance from anyone who could contribute to his son's campaign, whether financially or by sharing the appeal on social media, "to reach further, perhaps to a foundation that could offer assistance."

On August 20, the family relaunched a GoFundMe campaign, organized by Luvia Domínguez, with the aim of raising at least $11,000 to cover the surgery in the United States. As of this publication, only $206 has been raised.

By late August, Dennis declared that the family would no longer seek assistance from the Cuban regime. "We will not plead anymore with the failed and corrupt government," he wrote, adding that if necessary, they would leave the country by any means possible.

The Incident and Its Aftermath

Lester was 16 when, on March 21, 2023, a thief attacked him with a machete in San Germán, Holguín, to steal his mobile phone. The resulting incomplete C5 spinal cord injury left him in a wheelchair and led to a series of complications: mechanical ventilation, tracheotomy, bedsores, pneumonia, and bacterial infections.

By August 2025, Cuban doctors confirmed that the inverted vertebra was compressing his spinal cord and that surgery was possible, but the operation was never performed. The collapse of Cuba's healthcare system—with a waiting list of up to 96,387 patients, including more than 11,000 minors, according to official data from March 2026—prevented it.

Challenges in Seeking Treatment Abroad

Lester turned 20 on July 1, 2026, without having undergone surgery. In June, he warned in a video that the spinal compression "is killing me."

The journey toward surgery abroad has been fraught with significant challenges. In early August, a woman identified as Loraine from Las Vegas contacted the family, claiming to have secured a humanitarian visa for Lester, but the document turned out to be fraudulent.

The family publicly denounced the alleged scam, and Lester himself acknowledged in a video, "It seems I am being scammed. I have nothing certain, no proof, but everything is a bit confusing."

Dennis described his son's emotional state following the incident: "The boy is devastated."

The father has repeatedly reported that the family has not received any state assistance for over a year, despite official speeches about addressing vulnerable cases.