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Dailen Paneque Gómez, a 26-year-old Cuban resident in Guyana who had been reported missing since June 18, was murdered by a police officer from that country and her body was found this Wednesday, according to authorities.
Guyanese media reported that the body of Dailen was found in a state of decomposition in a brush area in Enmore Backdam, at around 7:50 PM on Wednesday, after six days of searching following the report of her disappearance.
A police officer from Guyana, identified as Randy Thomas, 20 years old, was arrested and confessed to murdering her.
The young Cuban woman, who lived in Mon Repos on the east coast of Demerara, was last seen in the early hours of Thursday, June 18, as she was heading to the health center where she worked in the Lusignan area. When she failed to arrive, she was reported missing, and the Criminal Investigations Department of the Guyana Police began an investigation that led to the arrest of the crime's perpetrator and the discovery of the woman's body.
The head of Criminal Investigations and Police sub-commissioner, Wendell Blanhum, reported that the detainee confessed to the murder and led the detectives from the crime scene to the location where he disposed of the body. "The officer confessed that he shot the victim," the official confirmed.
According to the reports, the law enforcement officer was in a romantic relationship with Dailen and allegedly shot her in what the police believe was a premeditated attack. Thomas stated that during a meeting in Enmore, an argument broke out between them and that the victim attacked him first.
However, the details of his own confession suggest possible premeditation: hours before the meeting, Thomas bought a rope at a Chinese supermarket in Mahaica, which he then used to tie up the body and drag it to the thicket where it was found. The accused used an unlicensed firearm to commit the crime and reportedly placed a teddy bear against the young woman's head at the moment he shot her, to muffle the sound.
After the crime, the man disposed of the evidence: he threw the weapon, the stuffed animal, and the victim's cellphone off a bridge in Unity, and cleaned his car with hand sanitizer.
The investigation into the case remains ongoing, and the Guyanese authorities have not specified when the charges against Thomas will be formalized.
Dailen had emigrated from Cuba in search of better living conditions and left a young daughter behind on the island. His murder has caused shock among the Cuban community in Guyana and among compatriots in other countries and within Cuba. "Today a family is left shattered. A little girl is left without her mother. And another Cuban who left her country in search of opportunities loses her life far from her homeland, in the most unjust and cruel way," wrote activist Kiryat Poey.
The case adds to a series of violent incidents against Cubans in Guyana that has generated growing alarm. Since October 2024, at least five citizens from the island have lost their lives in that country, including Dainier Vegas Infante, 23 years old, shot dead at his workplace in Georgetown on May 10, and Wilber Fonseca Fonseca, 53 years old, whose body was found alongside a road in Coldingen this month.
Guyana has an estimated Cuban community of between 5,000 and 7,000 people, drawn in part by the fact that it is the only country in the region that does not require a visa for Cuban citizens.
The murder of Dailen Paneque Gómez is part of a series of crimes against Cuban women abroad committed by their partners or ex-partners. In 2025, 12 Cuban women were victims of femicide abroad, according to data collected by the independent observatories OGAT and YSTCC.
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