Two new femicides are reported in Cuba: One in Havana and another in Las Tunas.

Feminist platforms reported on Wednesday two new femicides that highlight the urgency of effective protection systems and shelters for victims at risk of their lives and that raised to 25 the number of women who have died as a result of gender-based violence so far this year in Cuba.

The first of these occurred on May 18 in the Obrero neighborhood, in the Havana municipality of San Miguel del Padrón.

That day, a 32-year-old woman identified as Cindy Samanthy González Espinosa (Samy) was murdered at a friend's house, where she had gone to hide from her ex-partner.

However, the man went to the victim's friend's house and there he ended her life.

YoSíTeCreo in Cuba stressed that the aggressor had "a history of abuse" with Cindy and with previous partners, without this leading to preventive measures on the part of the authorities.

The other femicide is that of Katia Ortiz Figueredo, 25 years old and mother of two minors, who was murdered in broad daylight on the streets of the city of Las Tunas on June 5th.

In that case, the victim also died at the hands of her ex-partner, who had a history of gender-based violence against her.

In a previous report of this same case, journalist Alberto Arego specified - citing the testimony of an aunt of the victim - that the young woman was stabbed around 11 p.m. on the mentioned day in the vicinity of a pharmacy in the Aguilera neighborhood where there were many people standing in line to buy medications.

According to the testimony of a family source, Katia Ortiz and her ex-partner had been divorced for a few months, but he, "under threats, had kept her in his house for five days and sexually abused her, leaving her pregnant, according to the forensic report when performing the autopsy."

Katia is survived by two children, an eight-year-old boy and a three-year-old girl.

Regarding whether the young woman had filed a report, the victim's aunt told the journalist that no, "she was very afraid of him" and did not want to expose her father and brother.

"What I want is for this case to come to light so that he does not benefit in any way and is convicted for double murder," he concluded in reference to the attacker, who was arrested the same night of the crime.

The underreporting carried out by independent Cuban platforms up to June 12 includes 25 femicides, three attempted femicides, six cases requiring access to police investigation, and the murder of a man for reasons related to gender.

Four other alerts are currently being investigated, one in Havana, in Artemisa, in Camaguey, and in Santiago de Cuba.

The platform YoSíTeCreo en Cuba and the Gender Observatory Alas Tensas emphasize the importance of the Cuban government declaring a "state of emergency due to gender-based violence" and advocate for a comprehensive law against machista violence, as femicide is not classified in the Penal Code of the island.

Miguel Díaz-Canel stated on March 8th that in the country, the number of convictions for femicide tripled in 2023 compared to 2022, rising from 18 to 61.

Despite acknowledging that cases of gender violence "appear with regrettable frequency," Díaz-Canel argued that the "enemies of the revolution," whom he did not explicitly mention, "conveniently and tendentiously manipulate" the figures.