The Guyanese police officer Randy Thomas, 20 years old, was sent to preventive detention this Monday after being formally charged with the murder of his Cuban girlfriend, Dailén Paneque Gómez, 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 it is a serious crime under the laws of Guyana, the accused was not required to plead guilty or not guilty during this initial appearance. The court ordered his pretrial detention and set a new hearing for July 21.
Dailén Paneque Gómez lived in Mon Repos and worked at a health center in Lusignan. The young woman was reported missing after failing to return home at the end of her work shift. Six days later, on June 25, authorities found her body in a brush area.
The investigation revealed a crime that, according to the Police, was allegedly premeditated. Sub-Commissioner Wendell Blanhum reported that Thomas confessed to the murder and led investigators to the place 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 toy, and the victim's cell phone from a bridge in Unity. He then cleaned the inside of his vehicle with hand sanitizer, presumably in an effort to eliminate evidence.
Dailen's death has caused a deep shock among the Cuban community in Guyana. The young woman had emigrated in search of better economic opportunities and left behind a small daughter in Cuba.
“Today a family is left shattered. A 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 activist Kiryat Poey in response 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, shot dead in Georgetown on May 10 of this year, and Wilber Fonseca Fonseca, 53 years old, whose body was found beside a road 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 for citizens from the island. It is estimated that between 5,000 and 7,000 Cubans currently reside in that country, many of them in precarious labor and migration conditions.
The case of Dailen Paneque Gómez also 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), in 2025 at least twelve femicides of Cuban women abroad were documented, with cases recorded in the United States, Mexico, Spain, Guyana, and Suriname.
The next hearing against Randy Thomas has been scheduled for July 21, when a court will continue the criminal proceedings for the murder of the young Cuban woman.
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