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Violence against women in Cuba continues to escalate at an alarming rate, with another crime reported: Osleidys Bonaga Corella, 41 years old, was murdered last Friday in the municipality of Gibara, Holguín, making her the 26th victim of femicide on the island in 2026, confirmed the Alas Tensas Gender Observatory (OGAT).
The independent organization verified that Osleidys' alleged attacker was her ex-partner, who assaulted her with a knife in the town of Floro Pérez and initially fled the scene, but "is now in custody to face justice."
The victim leaves behind a son and a daughter, both of whom are adults, the OGAT stated, expressing condolences to them, to other family members and close friends of the victim, and to the neighborhood community, who are saddened by the loss.
The case is particularly concerning as it has turned Gibara into the scene of two femicides in less than a week: on May 17, Yadira González Gámez, 41 years old, was murdered in that same municipality, in the rural neighborhood of Cañada de Melones, also at the hands of a known man.
Both murders, along with that of Yarenia García Mariné, 36 years old, found dead in Palancón, Las Tunas, on May 19, bring the confirmed femicides in May to six.
This crime of gender-based violence also aligns with the statistical profile documented by the OGAT: ex-partner or partner as the aggressor, and a knife as the method. According to the 2025 report from the observatory, 83.3% of feminicides in Cuba are committed by the woman's partner or ex-partner, 64.6% are carried out with bladed weapons, and 62.5% occur in the victim's home.
The situation in 2026 is particularly serious: in less than five months, there have been reported 26 femicides, compared to the 48 recorded throughout 2025. As of May 23, OGAT also counts 18 attempts at femicide and one murder of a man for gender-related reasons.
The organization is also investigating 12 potential femicides, five attempts, and one murder of a man due to gender motives reported in 2025, as well as eight possible femicides and three attempts reported in 2026.
Last month, April, has been the deadliest to date, with at least seven confirmed cases, including the shocking double femicide in Batabanó on April 22, when Rosalí Peña Hernández's partner, aged 31, killed her and her 12-year-old daughter, Camila Aguilera Peña.
The Cuban legal framework exacerbates the structural problem: femicide is not classified as an independent crime in the Penal Code that has been in effect since November 2022. Additionally, Cuba lacks a comprehensive law on gender-based violence, shelters for women at risk, and effective protection protocols, and the state does not publish official statistics on these crimes, leaving documentation solely in the hands of independent organizations like OGAT.
Alas Tensas reiterated this Sunday that "reporting these crimes is not a crime" and urged citizens to report cases of extreme violence against women and girls through the email address observatorio@alastensas.com or via the online form on their website.
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