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Cuba has recorded 350 femicides from 2019 to June 2026, according to data from the Gender Observatory of Alas Tensas (OGAT) and the Femicides Observatory YoSíTeCreo en Cuba (YSTCC), published on Facebook by Alas Tensas.
The figure, described by the observers themselves as an underreporting, highlights a crisis of gender-based violence that the Cuban regime refuses to officially acknowledge.
"Each femicide reveals a life taken away, but also an institutional failure. Preventing, protecting, and repairing cannot continue to depend SOLELY on civil society," the publication states.
The annual distribution reveals an alarming trend: 16 crimes in 2019, 33 in 2020, 36 in 2021, 36 in 2022, a historic peak of 90 in 2023, 56 in 2024, 48 in 2025, and 35 so far in 2026, a year that is still ongoing.
The leap in 2023—almost triple that of the previous year—marked a turning point that has not elicited any institutional response from the government.
The year 2026 so far also shows no signs of improvement: the current rate of femicides represents a 112.5% increase compared to the same period in 2025, according to data from OGAT.
Among the most recent cases is Arnelys Nancy Vega González, 25 years old, murdered on June 7 in Centro Habana by her partner, and Daisi María Isaac Brito, 56 years old, confirmed as victim number 34 on June 15.
The profile of the crime is consistent: 83.3% of feminicides are perpetrated by the victim's partner or ex-partner, 64.6% are committed with a knife, and 62.5% occur in the home or immediate vicinity of the victim.
Women between the ages of 15 and 45 represent the majority of cases. So far in 2026, OGAT has also recorded 19 attempted femicides and one murder of a man due to gender motivations.
All of this data comes exclusively from independent observatories, as the Cuban regime does not publish systematic official statistics on femicides.
The situation worsens following the closure of the YSTCC Observatory in April 2026 due to lack of resources and human exhaustion, after documenting 315 crimes between 2019 and 2025. This decision leaves the OGAT of Alas Tensas as the only active independent observatory on the island.
"The platform lacks the human and material resources to continue maintaining the record of femicides, which is becoming increasingly difficult in the Cuban context," YSTCC explained when announcing its closure.
The Cuban legal framework does not offer any specific protection: the current Penal Code (Law 151/2022) does not classify femicide as an autonomous crime, Cuba lacks a comprehensive law against gender-based violence, and there are no institutional shelters or public protection protocols for women at risk.
In 2022, the National Assembly rejected an amendment that sought to include femicide in the new Penal Code. The Federation of Cuban Women (FMC), the only legally recognized women's organization in the country, not only remained silent in the face of these crimes but also opposed this classification.
In June 2026, the UNFPA of the UN awarded recognition to the FMC for its alleged work in protecting women, a decision that was strongly criticized by independent activists.
Alas Tensas demands that the regime publicly acknowledge violence against women, publish official statistics, classify femicide, activate protection protocols, establish shelters, and ensure emergency hotlines.
And it adds a demand that summarizes the double institutional violence: "It must also cease to criminalize activists and independent observers who document these cases in the face of state silence."
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