The Gender Observatory of Alas Tensas (OGAT) reported this Tuesday that the total number of documented femicides in Cuba has risen to 359 since it began monitoring in 2019, according to an infographic published by the organization on its social media on July 27.
The figure makes OGAT the only organization that systematically conducts this tracking on the island, following the closure of the Yo Sí Te Creo en Cuba Femicide Observatory in April 2026 due to lack of resources and human exhaustion.
The breakdown year by year
The records from OGAT show an upward trend in documented femicides, with a peak in 2023
16 cases in 2019.
- 33 in 2020.
- 36 in 2021.
- 36 in 2022.
- 90 in 2023.
- 56 in 2024.
- 48 in 2025.
- 44 until July 27, 2026.
The year 2023 marked a historic high, nearly triple the 36 documented in 2022.
Although the numbers decreased in 2024 and 2025, the data from 2026 indicates a new increase: the 44 cases in just seven months represent an approximate increase of 112% compared to the 18 recorded in the same period of 2025.
In May and June of 2026, the OGAT verified 17 femicides compared to only four in the same months of 2025, marking an increase of 325%.
May 2026 recorded eight cases compared to one in May 2025, representing a 700% increase.
Recent cases that illustrate the crisis
Among the most recent femicides is that of Kirenia López Mendoza, aged 43, found dead on July 18 in her home in Isla de la Juventud showing signs of extreme cruelty. She had reported abuse to the police without receiving protection.
On July 13, Yeni María Peñas Leyva, 23 years old and pregnant, was attacked in Las Tunas by her ex-partner, resulting in her death.
According to the director of OGAT, Ileana Álvarez, it was "the first femicide of a pregnant woman recorded since June 5, 2024."
Also in July, 17-year-old Merlin Noay passed away in Santiago de Cuba following an attack by a 64-year-old man who had been her stepfather, a case that the OGAT classified as a familial and child femicide.
Why document when the State does not?
The OGAT emphasizes that its work is essential in light of the regime's opacity.
“Reporting these crimes allows us to break the institutional silence, preserve the memory of the victims, identify patterns of violence, and demand measures for prevention, protection, and justice,” stated the organization.
The documented pattern is consistent: 83.3% of femicides are committed by current or former partners, 64.6% are perpetrated with knives, and 62.5% occur in the victim's own home.
A legal vacuum that the regime does not close
Cuba lacks a comprehensive law against gender-based violence.
The Penal Code of 2022 does not classify femicide as an independent crime, but only as an aggravating factor of homicide, and the National Assembly rejected an amendment to include it as an independent criminal charge.
The specific regulations do not appear in the legislative schedule until 2028.
This is compounded by the lack of shelters for women at risk, awareness campaigns, and protocols for dealing with disappearances.
Ileana Álvarez pointed out the institutional contradiction:
"This escalation of feminicide violence occurs while the Federation of Cuban Women, the only women's organization allowed by the state, uses its social networks not to address the rising gender violence in Cuba, but to criticize families protesting alongside their children in response to the deep crisis facing the country."
“Documenting each femicide allows for demanding answers in the face of the regime's impunity,” concluded the OGAT, which has reiterated its call for a state of emergency to be declared due to gender-based violence in Cuba.
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