MIAMI, United States. – The scenario of disappearances of women in Cuba continues to be alarming, with several active cases verified by independent organizations such as the platform IYesI Believe in Cuba and the Magazine Gender Observatory Tense Wings (OGAT).
Both organizations have played a crucial role in making these disappearances visible.
Due to the lack of protocols for cases of disappearances on the Island, journalist and activist Marta María Ramírez proposed the creation of alerts Mayde (for the disappearance of girls, boys and adolescents) and Yeniset (for the disappearance of women).
For the journalist, the case of the teenager Maydeleisis Rosales, who disappeared in May 2021 at only 16 years old, revealed that the Cuban authorities did not have any protocol for cases of disappearances of girls and boys.
“The Police response not only reveals a lack of important protocol, but also a failure to comply with what the Cuban State has said it does,” Ramírez told CubaNet in March of this year.
“Disappeared people have the right to be searched and found even if it is a voluntary disappearance,” the journalist also assured this medium.
Next, CubaNet present the profiles of women whose disappearance has been verified and reported by various platforms and media:
- Mabel García Corrales (Marbeli)
Date of disappearance: June 30, 2024.
Mabel García, 54, disappeared in Ciego de Ávila, where she lived. According to her daughter, the last time she was seen, she was wearing a black sweater, short black shorts, and flip-flops of the same color. He suffers from nervous problems. His alleged presence was reported at the Sancti Spíritus Interprovincial Bus Terminal. His disappearance was reported on July 1 to the National Revolutionary Police (PNR) under number 5912/2024.
- Yamisel Rondón Morales
Date of disappearance: July 15, 2024.
Mother of two children, Yamisel disappeared after traveling from Manzanillo to Havana to make purchases. Upon arriving in the capital, she separated from the women who accompanied her and did not return home. With no mobile phone and no known illnesses, his family fears the worst, as he has never disappeared before. The complaint was made to the Manzanillo PNR, but no response has been received. The last time she was seen, she was wearing a short denim skirt and red sneakers.
- Maydeleisis Rosales Rodríguez
Date of disappearance: May 30, 2021.
This case, which inspired the creation of the Mayde Alert for missing minors, has been one of the most distressing for family members and activists. Maydeleisis was 16 years old when she disappeared near her home in Central Havana. She was last seen in the Campanario and Malecón park. His mother, Isis Rodríguez Ameneiro, has harshly criticized the lack of progress in the investigation, pointing out that the main suspects are still at large and that the PNR has closed the case without having found his body. The disappearance has seriously affected the health of her mother, who has suffered several crises due to uncertainty about her daughter’s fate.
- Damaris Ricardo Frómetas
Date of disappearance: October 2009.
Missing for more than a decade in Wajay, Havana, Damaris was last seen by pastors from her church, who reported that she was planning to go with her children to Bayamo. However, that trip never took place, and his whereabouts remain a mystery. His sister Rosa has denounced the lack of progress in the case and has demanded that the authorities resume the investigation.
- Jiannis Sánchez Páez
Date of disappearance: June 14, 2019.
The mother of two girls, Jiannis disappeared after leaving her daughters with a neighbor to visit her hospitalized mother in Havana. However, he never made it to the hospital or returned home. His disappearance was reported to the PNR, but no significant progress has been reported. Jiannis had witnessed her husband’s murder shortly before his disappearance.
- Beisy Moraima Pedroso Ramírez
Date of disappearance: May 30, 2017.
Beisy disappeared at the age of 21 in Arroyo Naranjo, Havana, while she was on her way to connect to the Wi-Fi in a nearby park. Shortly after, he made a brief call to his family, but it was cut off before he could say where he was. Despite complaints filed at various police agencies, no clue to his whereabouts has been found. His family has visited hospitals, churches and bus terminals in search of answers, but so far no conclusive information has been obtained.
