They report the death of a woman due to a beating by her partner in a hospital in Holguín where she was admitted.

Machista violence claimed another victim in Cuba: a woman who was hospitalized at the Vladimir Ilich Lenin University Hospital in Holguín died at the beginning of the month as a result of a beating inflicted by her partner at the medical center, reported the Women's Network of Cuba.

Elaine Laguna Figueredo, 50 years old, suffered the attack while hospitalized in the surgery ward, in 2B, where she was undergoing clinical studies, confirmed sources from the non-governmental organization who requested anonymity.

The incidents allegedly took place last June 4th, according to witnesses. An employee at the health center stated that the night before, their partner had come to visit them at the hospital "under the influence" and physically assaulted them in the bathroom; whereas a patient hospitalized in the same ward claimed that the assault took place on the morning of June 4th.

A worker at the center and the patient revealed disturbing details about the events. According to their testimonies, the couple entered the bathroom and "he put her in the shower fully clothed," despite the patient having a catheter and an IV line attached.

Both of them were in the bathroom, located in front of where the nurses and doctors are, claps and the man's voice urging the woman to get up from the floor could be heard. "At no time did I hear the woman's voice," the patient added, pointing out that after 15 minutes, the aggressor left the bathroom and returned with another drunken man.

After being informed of what was happening, the medical staff entered the bathroom and found the patient on the floor. They took her out on a stretcher and brought her to the operating room, the sources said.

A healthcare professional who requested that their identity not be revealed, for fear of reprisals, reported that the victim fell into a coma, had to be artificially ventilated, and was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit, where they passed away shortly after.

According to witnesses, the aggressor -whose identity has not been revealed- was detained by the police at the hospital itself.

Despite having occurred in an institution of the state system of Public Health, so far the authorities have not confirmed the events.

In the case of the femicide that occurred in the Holguín hospital, the security standards within an institution are being questioned where the victim, vulnerable due to her illness, was doubly abused with no one able to prevent it," warned the statement from the Cuban Women's Network, which requested collaboration to clarify this case.

However, this femicide is not the first to occur in a healthcare center in Cuba. In February 2023, a telephone operator at the Pediatric Hospital Mártires de Las Tunas was stabbed to death by her former partner while working overnight at the institution's switchboard. Hours later, health authorities confirmed the murder of Arianny Chávez Puche, 35 years old.

At the beginning of that same month, Leidy Bacallao was murdered with machetes by her ex-partner at the police station in the town of Camalote, in Nuevitas, Camagüey. The 17-year-old teenager had run there seeking refuge while being chased by her assailant, but was assaulted to death without the officers intervening to prevent it.

Just four days ago, another femicide occurred in a Cuban state institution. Alba Delia Sánchez Benítez, 58 years old, was murdered by her former partner while performing her job duties as a security and protection agent at the Fermín Valdés Domínguez student residence, in El Cotorro, Havana. There has not been an official statement on the incident yet.

Until June 18, the underreporting of feminist organizations and independent press accounted for 28 femicides in Cuba in 2024. The one that occurred in Holguín at the beginning of the month raises the number of fatal victims of gender violence in the country to 29 so far this year.

According to an article published by the Gender Observatory of Alas Tensas magazine, June is repeated as one of the deadliest months for women in Cuba due to the number of femicide cases, to which unfortunately is added that of Elaine Laguna Figueredo from Holguin.

Feminist platforms continue urging the Cuban government to take preventive actions to avoid more deaths of women due to gender-based violence.