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The murder of a young Cuban woman, mother of a baby only five months old, this Tuesday in Arroyo Naranjo, Havana, is the third femicide in May and brings the confirmed cases in Cuba to 23 in 2026 so far, according to the records of the Gender Observatory of Alas Tensas (OGAT).
Kirenia Casi Álvarez, 32 years old, was attacked early in the morning on May 12 by her ex-partner and father of the baby, in the street in the Párraga neighborhood, and died later in the operating room of the Julio Trigo López Hospital, where she had been transferred.
Several people from the community attempted to intervene to stop the aggression, and one of them was even injured, as verified by the OGAT.
The young woman left her baby and a six-year-old child from a previous relationship orphaned.
Kirenia is the third mother of a breastfeeding infant victim of femicide this year in Cuba. The observatory expressed regret over the loss of her life and emphasized that her young daughter "is left in a very vulnerable situation, even for her health." In April, two other mothers of infants were also killed by their ex-partners: Marina (Marian) Pino Martínez, in Matanzas, and Mariolis López Silio, in Mayabeque.
According to information shared on social media by content creator Niover Licea (Nio reporting a crime), Kirenia's attacker was identified as Fabián Pedroso, known in the area as "El Pata" and "El Babalao," who, according to neighbors, worked as a baker.
As of May 13, OGAT has recorded 17 attempted femicides and one gender-motivated murder of a man. Additionally, it continues to investigate 12 possible femicides, five attempts, and one gender-motivated murder of a man reported in 2025, as well as eight possible femicides and two attempts reported in 2026.
On May 8, just four days before the crime that cut short Kirenia's life, her ex-husband also murdered Yurelis Puente Naranjo, 44 years old, in Abreus, Cienfuegos.
On the first of May, Gloria Almanza Céspedes, a 52-year-old teacher, died in San Miguel del Padrón, Havana, despite having previously reported her assailant to the police without receiving effective protection.
April has been the most violent month of the year, with at least seven cases, including a double femicide in Batabanó, Mayabeque: Rosalí Peña Hernández, 31 years old, and her daughter Camila Aguilera Peña, 12 years old, were murdered by Rosalí's partner on April 22.
The pattern documented by the OGAT is consistent: 83.3% of femicides in Cuba are committed by the partner or ex-partner of the victim, 62.5% occur in her home, and 64.6% are carried out with knives.
The Cuban state does not publish official statistics on these crimes. The Penal Code in effect since 2022 does not classify femicide as an autonomous crime, and the island lacks a comprehensive law on gender-based violence, shelters for at-risk women, and effective protection protocols.
Since the closure of the Yo Sí Te Creo observatory in Cuba in April, OGAT is the only independent organization that systematically monitors these crimes on the island.
Between 2019 and 2025, both organizations documented a total of 315 femicides in Cuba.
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