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The lifeless body of Yarenia García Mariné, a young mother living in the Buena Vista neighborhood of the province of Las Tunas, was found days after her disappearance, which occurred on May 15 when she left her home and did not return.
The discovery and capture of the alleged culprit were confirmed by the Facebook profile "Claridad Tunera," identified as the spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior (MININT) in the province.
"With deep sorrow, we report that the lifeless body of the young mother from Tunera, Yarenia García Mariné, who had been missing since May 15, was found," that profile published.
According to the alert shared days earlier by "La Tijera News," Yarenia had left her home heading to the Parquecito on Street 7 in Buena Vista, and since then her whereabouts were unknown, a situation that kept her family and friends in a distressing search.
“The prompt actions of the authorities, with the support of the population, led to the capture of the criminal who took her life, and he is now behind bars,” noted “Claridad Tunera,” highlighting the police response without classifying the crime as femicide, which is a common pattern in communications from the Cuban MININT.
"Claridad Tunera" also did not specify the relationship between the victim and the murderer.
This same profile acted similarly in February 2024, when it reported on the murder of Yusmila Mayo Ruiz in Omaja, Majibacoa municipality, also in Las Tunas, using euphemistic language and avoiding the term femicide.
Las Tunas has a documented history of crimes against women. In March 2026, Katherine Cruz Aguilera, 14 years old, was allegedly murdered by her ex-stepfather in El Cornito, in that same province.
Nationally, the situation is alarming. The Gender Observatory of Alas Tensas (OGAT) recorded 22 confirmed femicides in Cuba as of May 10, 2026, along with 17 additional attempts documented during the same period.
In the first quarter of the year, the Alas Tensas and Yo Sí Te Creo observatories in Cuba documented 13 femicides, leaving at least seven minors without their mothers' care.
Femicide is not classified as a crime in the Cuban Penal Code, a legal gap that activists and independent observatories point out as a structural obstacle that perpetuates impunity for these crimes.
"In the face of such pain, we are comforted by the fact that the perpetrator of the crime will not go unpunished and will be judged with the full force of the law," concluded the MININT statement, which consistently refrained from using the term that independent organizations do not hesitate to call femicide.
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