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Rosaidis Donatien, known as "Rosi," 23 years old, was murdered this Tuesday in Palma Soriano, a municipality in the province of Santiago de Cuba, allegedly by her partner Algendry López, a Cuban resident in the United States who had arrived on the island unexpectedly that same day, according to reported social communicator Yosmany Mayeta Labrada.
The victim herself picked up the assailant at the airport and, instead of going to her relatives' home as was customary, they both went directly to his apartment, away from her family, where the attack began.
In her attempt to escape, Rosi took refuge in the home of an elderly couple on the floor below, but the attacker broke the lock, burst into the home, and took her life inside the neighbors' room.
The young woman received nearly 13 wounds from a bayonet, a large knife.
After the crime, Algendry López inflicted a wound on his abdomen. At that time, there was no communication or landline signal in the area, so he was carried up the stairs and assisted by local police, then taken to the main emergency unit in Palma Soriano and later referred to Santiago de Cuba, where he underwent surgery. His condition was reported as stable.
A source linked to the healthcare sector, who requested to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation, confirmed that "this was not the first time the young man had acted violently towards the girl," reported Mayeta.
Regarding the possible motives, the same source indicated that two versions were circulating: that she might have been unfaithful and someone had sent him evidence, or that she remained calm while he was obsessive.
None of these versions have been officially confirmed, the communicator stressed.
It was also circulated among neighbors that Algendry López arrived alone at the airport, with no family or anyone waiting for him, and that the purpose of the trip was to confront her over the alleged infidelities.
The crime occurs amid an alarming rise in femicides in Cuba during 2026. The Gender Observatory of Alas Tensas (OGAT) had verified 30 femicides in the country as of June 6, a figure that nearly doubles the number recorded on the same date in 2025.
The days leading up to the crime in Palma Soriano were particularly brutal: on June 5, OGAT confirmed three new femicides in a single day, and on the same Tuesday, new details emerged regarding the case of a Cuban woman found dead in a park in El Vedado, Havana.
Cuba does not classify femicide as an independent crime in its Penal Code, lacks a comprehensive law on gender violence, and does not have institutional shelters for women at risk, a shortcoming that feminist organizations identify as a factor that perpetuates impunity.
Since its founding in 2019, OGAT has recorded 345 femicides in Cuba, in the complete absence of official public records from the regime.
The case of Rosaidis Donatien would raise the verified count of femicides in Cuba to at least 31 in 2026, while "family and friends mourn the loss of a young woman described by those who knew her as cheerful and beloved," and the community of Palma Soriano awaits clarification from the authorities regarding what happened and to determine the appropriate responsibilities.
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