The body of Marili Reina Fajardo, 45 years old, was found on Wednesday, October 21, in Brisas del Mar, Habana del Este, showing signs of extreme violence and sexual assault, according to a report by the Gender Observatory of Alas Tensas (OGAT) this Monday.
The victim had left her home that morning in La Lima, Guanabo, to go to work as a domestic worker. She never arrived at her destination.
OGAT classified the case as femicide due to a combination of factors: the previous disappearance, signs of extreme violence, and a history indicating a machista bias. "Due to the situation of disappearance, the nature of the crime showing signs of extreme violence, as well as the history endured by the victim that denotes a machista bias, it qualifies as femicide," stated the organization, which clarified that the case will remain under observation as the police investigation progresses.
At the close of this report, the authorities had not reported any arrests or identified suspects.
Marili leaves behind a minor son and two adult daughters who mourn her on social media.
With this crime, OGAT counts 60 femicides in Cuba during 2026, as well as 38 attempted cases and two murders of men in the context of feminicide-related violence.
The case of Marili occurs just days after feminicides 58 and 59. Number 58 was Yudiley Rodríguez Enríquez, known as "Mimí," aged 37, murdered on October 20 in Gibara, Holguín, in the presence of her daughters, including a four-year-old girl. Number 59 was Ana Vivian Suárez Cruz, aged 21, confirmed by OGAT on October 23 after her death in La Palma, Pinar del Río.
The rate in 2026 is the highest recorded by the organization since it began monitoring in 2019. Between January and July, 44 cases were documented, compared to 18 in the same period of 2025, an approximate increase of 112%. The months of June and July were the deadliest, with nine crimes each.
The OGAT data for January to August 2026 reveals a dominant pattern: 75.5% of the victims were killed by their partner or ex-partner, 64.6% of the crimes were committed with a knife, and 62.5% occurred in the victim's home or its vicinity.
Cuba does not define femicide as an autonomous crime in its Penal Code. The National Assembly rejected a proposal to incorporate it in 2022, and the country lacks a comprehensive law on gender-based violence and systematic official statistics on these crimes. In response to criticism, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in April 2026 that in Cuba "there is no and there will be no impunity" regarding gender-based violence, invoking the Constitution and existing legislation.
Since the start of its monitoring, Alas Tensas has documented over 366 femicides in Cuba, a figure that the Cuban state has never acknowledged or officially counted.
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