On September 19, Annelis Hernández Puerto, a 47-year-old Cuban woman, was tragically murdered by her partner at her home in Florida, Camagüey, as confirmed by independent platforms this Monday.
This brutal act against Hernández raises the number of reported femicides in Cuba to 38 for the year 2024, according to data collected by the feminist observatories Yo Sí Te Creo en Cuba (YSTCC) and the Alas Tensas (OGAT) magazine. The perpetrator, whose identity has not been disclosed, took his own life after committing the crime.
Both platforms confirmed the incident with community sources, reflecting widespread reports from the media, citizens, and activists in recent days. YSTCC and OGAT highlighted the "extreme violence" of this incident as a recurring example of misogyny in Cuba, although they did not provide further details about the tragic event, which has plunged another Cuban family into mourning.
Community and Family Impact
The statement released on Monday conveyed condolences to Hernández's adult son, her surviving family members, and those close to her. To date, the platforms have also verified three attempted femicides, six cases requiring police investigation, and two gender-related murders of men.
Additionally, they are investigating five other potential femicides in Matanzas (2), Las Tunas (1), Camagüey (1), and Guantánamo (1).
Government and Official Responses
In early August, the Cuban government reported that 60 gender-related murders of women aged 15 or older were prosecuted in 2023. Of these, 50 (83.3%) were killed by their partners or ex-partners, with the remaining cases involving other assailants, according to the Observatory of Cuba on Gender Equality.
According to the same source, 378 cases of sexual violence were tried in court, with several women sustaining injuries from attacks by former partners. The Federation of Cuban Women (FMC), an official organization, recently acknowledged that over 16,000 women and girls from 9,579 families live in violent conditions in the country. The organization also admitted to a rise in femicides since the pandemic, although it prefers to use the term "femicides" instead.