The Alas Tensas Gender Observatory (OGAT) and the feminist platform Yo Sí Te Creo en Cuba (YSTCC) verified this Wednesday two new femicides on the islandone in Las Tunas and another in Havana, which adds up to 25 registered in the country so far this yearBoth groups reported in a statement.
In the first instance, they corroborated and regretted the femicide of Katia Ortiz Figueredo, 25 years old, who was attacked by her ex-partner on a public street in the city of Las Tunas last June 5. The attacker had a history of sexist violence against the victim, who is survived by two minor daughters.
The other feminicide verified by OGAT and YSTCC took place on May 18 in the Barrio Obrero, San Miguel del Padrón, in Havana. The victim was Cindy Samanthy González Espinosa (Samy), 32 years old, who She was hiding in a friend’s house, but her ex-partner managed to find her and carry out the crime.
The observatories stressed that in this case, as in the previous one, the aggressor had a history of sexist violenceboth against González Espinosa and against other ex-partners, “without these behaviors having led to preventive measures,” they indicated.
“In recent days there have been several news stories about sexual assaults and gender violence where the perpetrators had a criminal record. In one of the cases, which occurred in Chicharrones, Cienfuegos, the aggressor was on release from prison and had previously been convicted of sexual assaults,” denounced the OGAT and YSTCC, which demanded more involvement from the Cuban Government.
In addition to these cases, both organizations highlighted that “they have counted three attempts to feminicide and they need access to police reports of six other cases of murdered women.
Among the 25 cases verified so far, for the first time since these organizations investigated the issue, the murder of a man for reasons of gender. The OGAT and YSTCC also stated that they are currently investigating femicide alerts in Havana, Artemisa, Camagüey, Villa Clara and Santiago de Cuba, although without verification in any of them, due to the obstacles imposed by the regime.
In 2023, according to the under-registration of these organizations, were 89 femicides committed in Cuba. The activists, who also record transfemicides and violence against Cuban women outside Cuba, detailed that 67 of the crimes were with knives, 39 of the victims were between 31 and 45 years old, the most represented age group, in 12 of them. In the cases there were previous complaints that were ignored by the Police and 76 of the perpetrators were partners or ex-partners of the victims. Despite the evidence, The attitude of the Cuban Government regarding this issue continues to be timorous.
