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The Guyanese police officer Randy Thomas, 20 years old, was remanded in custody on Monday after being formally charged with the murder of his Cuban girlfriend, Dailén Paneque Gomes, 26 years old, whose body was found in an advanced state of decomposition in a swampy area of Enmore South Backdam, on the East Coast of Demerara.
According to reports from the Guyana Chronicle, Thomas appeared before Magistrate Teriq Mohamed at the Vigilance Magistrate's Court, where he was charged with murder for events that occurred between June 18 and June 24, 2026.
As this is a serious offense under Guyana's legislation, the defendant was not required to plead guilty or not guilty during this initial appearance. The court ordered their remand in custody and scheduled a new hearing for July 21.
Dailén Paneque Gomes resided in Mon Repos and worked at a health center in Lusignan. The young woman was reported missing after she did not return home at the end of her workday. Six days later, on June 25, authorities located her body in an area of brush.
The investigation revealed a crime that, according to the Police, was allegedly planned. Deputy Commissioner Wendell Blanhum reported that Randy Thomas confessed to the murder and led investigators to the location where he hid the body.
According to the investigation, the accused used a teddy bear to muffle the fatal shot, employed an unlicensed firearm, and, hours before the crime, purchased a rope at a supermarket in Mahaica to tie up the body and drag it to the location where it was later abandoned.
The authorities also maintain that, after committing the homicide, Thomas threw the weapon used, the stuffed animal, and the victim's cell phone off a bridge in Unity. Subsequently, he cleaned the interior of his vehicle with hand sanitizer, allegedly to eliminate evidence.
The death of Dailen has caused deep shock within the Cuban community in Guyana. The young woman had emigrated in search of better economic opportunities and left a small daughter behind in Cuba.
"Today a family is left devastated. 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," expressed the activist Kiryat Poey in reaction to the case.
The murder also brings attention back to the violence that has affected Cuban citizens in Guyana. Since October 2024, at least six Cubans have died violently in that country. Among the victims are Dainier Vegas Infante, 23 years old, who was shot in Georgetown on May 10 of this year, and Wilber Fonseca Fonseca, 53 years old, whose body was found by a roadside in Coldingen on June 11.
Guyana has become one of the main migration destinations for Cubans as it is the only country in South America that does not require a visa from citizens of the island. It is estimated that between 5,000 and 7,000 Cubans currently reside in that country, many of them in precarious working and migratory conditions.
The case of Dailen Paneque Gomes adds to the growing list of femicides of Cuban women that have occurred outside the island. According to the independent observatories OGAT and Yo Sí Te Creo en Cuba (YSTCC), at least twelve femicides of Cuban women abroad were documented in 2025, with cases recorded in the United States, Mexico, Spain, Guyana, and Suriname.
The next hearing against Randy Thomas is scheduled for July 21, when a court will continue the criminal proceedings for the murder of the young Cuban woman.
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