Femicides number 52 in Cuba: 38-year-old woman stabbed by her ex-partner in Las Tunas

Noemí Pérez López, 38 years old, was stabbed to death by her ex-partner on the night of August 8 in the rural community of Paso Pata, municipality of Jesús Menéndez, Las Tunas, in what the Alas Tensas Gender Observatory (OGAT) confirmed on Monday as the 52nd femicide in Cuba this year.

The attacker entered Noemí's home during the night in "an act of extreme cruelty."

The information initially circulated through influencers who gathered testimonies from family members and neighbors in the community, and was later verified and supplemented by the independent organization.

The alleged femicide fled after the crime and remained at large for nearly a month, during which time the victim's family lived in anguish. He was captured by the police in Havana on September 5, as confirmed by OGAT.

Noemí leaves behind two children: a teenager and a young girl who has no connection to the aggressor. The younger child has serious health issues and was dependent on her mother's care.

The case adds to an alarming escalation of feminicide violence on the Island. Cuba reached 50 feminicides on September 4, surpassing the total registered for all of 2025, which ended with 49 cases according to independent platforms.

Days later, a previous crime was confirmed, that of Camila González Arias, aged 17, who was murdered on June 21, bringing the count to 51. Noemí's case raises it to 52.

The pace of 2026 is unprecedented: in the first half of the year, 37 femicides were documented, more than double the 18 recorded in the same period of 2025, representing an increase of 112.5%.

In addition to the 52 femicides, OGAT reported as of this Monday 21 attempted femicides and two murders of men due to gender-based violence so far this year. They are also investigating 12 potential femicides and 20 attempts reported in 2026 that have not yet been confirmed.

The municipality of Jesús Menéndez has already been the scene of another feminicide this year: that of Maylén Fernández Soriano, in April.

The Cuban legal framework does not classify femicide as an autonomous crime: the current Penal Code only considers it as an aggravating factor for homicide, and a comprehensive law on gender violence is not included in the legislative agenda until 2028.