Independent Platform Reports 32 Femicides in Cuba for 2024

The feminist platform YoSíTeCreo in Cuba has raised the number of femicides in the country to 32 for this year. This update follows the verification of the death of 16-year-old Yenifer Vargas Gómez, who was stabbed by her ex-boyfriend in Santiago de Cuba on August 13. The teenager succumbed to her injuries hours later.

In a social media post, the independent platform highlighted the "particularly grave nature" of this case, noting that the victim was a tenth-grade student, a minor. The statement did not address whether the alleged assailant had been apprehended, but reports indicate he was arrested the same day while hiding at a relative's house in Santiago de Cuba.

The Observatorio de Género Alas Tensas (OGAT) and YoSíTeCreo in Cuba have recorded a total of 32 femicides, three attempted femicides, six cases needing police investigation, and two gender-based murders of men as of August 14. The cases pending investigation include an elderly woman in Villa Clara, and women named Irma, Teresa Moliner Bosa, Tania Reyes, Samantha (Sami) Heredia Odrens, and Laura Castillo Zulueta, all from various regions including Havana and Santiago de Cuba.

In addition to verified cases, investigations are ongoing in Las Tunas, Matanzas, Havana, and Santiago de Cuba. Official data reveals that last year, 110 individuals were prosecuted for femicide—a term the Cuban authorities refuse to use—and there were 378 reported cases of sexual violence in 2023. Several women sustained injuries from attacks by former partners.

At the end of July, the Cuban government established a national system for recording, monitoring, and addressing gender-based violence within families, as discussed in a Council of Ministers meeting. An article in the state-run newspaper Granma mentioned that the system comprises “25 experts” from the Ministry of the Interior and the Supreme People’s Court. The aim is to develop an “interoperable digital administrative registry” to manage criminal processes.

Attorney General Yamila Peña Ojeda stated that the primary utility of this system is to provide statistical information for preventing gender-based violence. For Cuban leaders, the implementation and transparency of this national registry strengthen the rule of law, discourage violence, combat impunity, enhance legal education, and fortify social structures.

Peña Ojeda also noted that, according to 2023 data, 75% of these incidents took place at home, with a trend continuing into this year. Additionally, 72% of the victims were aged between 25 and 59, and 45% were unpaid workers. The authorities identified survivors who had suffered abuse during the relationship and those who had previously reported threats or injuries, sometimes retracting their complaints as part of the cycle of violence.

According to Peña Ojeda, 84% of the perpetrators were partners or ex-partners; 46% had up to ninth-grade education; 40% were employed; and 31% had a criminal history of violent acts. Despite these statistics, the Cuban regime does not include femicide as a specific crime in the current Penal Code, which was approved in May 2022.