Havana/The discovery of the lifeless body of Barbara Elena Magdaleno, a 56 -year -old woman, in a field in the town of Las Cañas, in Calabazo, has shuddered the residents of the municipality of Boyeros, in Havana. The victim, mother of three children, would have been killed to machetes by her partner, a man over 60 years of age identified by relatives as Radame. The crime, occurred at the beginning of August, puts the worrying macho violence on the island again and the lack of effective mechanisms to protect women.
Elena had been in a relationship with her alleged murderer for more than a year, but in recent times she had expressed to her family the desire to end. As he told his relatives, he felt harassed and feared for his safety. Even so, he decided to go to his partner’s house alone to collect some belongings and put an end to the relationship. From that moment on it was not known.
The complaint did not prosper because the regulatory term of 72 hours should be expected before declaring someone as missing
His family alerted the police, but the complaint did not prosper because the regulatory period of 72 hours before declaring someone as missing should be expected. During those days of uncertainty, the children of the victim – two girls of 25 and 19 years, and a male of 15 – had no news of their mother.
On August 11, a neighbor told relatives that a body had been found in a nearby field. The body was in an advanced state of decomposition and showed signs of violence. Shortly after, the alleged aggressor appeared dead in another area of thickets. Everything indicates that he took his life, hanging up, after committing the crime.
The official press informed about 25 -year prison sentence imposed on a man who tried to kill his ex -partner and caused serious injuries
In Las Cañas, a peripheral Calabazo neighborhood marked by the precariousness and deficiencies of basic services, the news spread rapidly. Very close to the victim, Madelín Rico commented on social networks: “While I live I will be for your children and grandchildren, which are also my grandchildren. They took your life, but not your memories and I will always remember you as the mother of the family, fighter, that nothing stopped you.”
In another publication on social networks, the user Lola Gómez expressed her shock for crime and remembered the victim: “I am still shocked. I want to tell that she was my worker until just four months ago, as a protection agent in the electronic industry. He was a beautiful person, he lived in the reeds. My most lousy senses to her family and friends. What horror, how much evil.”
According to the 14 -Medium count, so far this year has registered 23 women killed in Cuba. This Saturday, the official press reported about the sentence to 25 years in prison imposed on a man who tried to kill his ex -partner and caused serious injuries. The brief note did not use the term Feminicide –Anust of the current Criminal Code – although it sought to highlight the severity of the sanction as an exemplary punishment. But without a clear legal framework, without immediate action protocols and without safe shelters, Cuban women remain unprotected before sexist violence.
