MIAMI, United States. – The young Yiliannis Bueno Espinoza, 29 years old, was murdered this week by her ex-partner, in the town of El Sur, in the Tercer Frente municipality, Santiago de Cuba. With this crime, the number of fatal victims of gender violence on the Island during 2024 rises to 54, an underreporting prepared by independent organizations and media.
According to the report of Cuban Diarythe attack occurred when Bueno Espinoza was returning after sending one of his daughters to school. “It was horrible, horrible. Even injured, Yiliannis struggled to get her husband off her back,” a neighbor who tried to help her told the media.
According to the victim’s uncle, also cited by Cuban Diarythe person responsible for the crime was the young woman’s ex-partner.
Farmers in the area prevented the aggressor from fleeing and took the victim to the nearest polyclinic, although he did not survive.
Well Espinoza leaves two girls orphaned.
The crime has not yet been confirmed by independent feminist platforms that fight against sexist violence on the Island, such as YoSíTeCreo in Cuba and the Gender Observatory of the magazine Tense Wings (OGAT).
According to both groups of activists, at least 10 femicides have been reported this year in Santiago de Cuba, a figure that could be higher given the official secrecy and the impossibility of accessing official sources.
The total number of femicides reported by OGAT and YoSíTeCreo in Cuba throughout the year amounts to 53 femicides. Both organizations have also reported attempted feminicide, in addition to six cases pending access to police investigations and two murders of men for gender reasons.
Both OGAT and Yo SíTeCreo in Cuba have reiterated the urgency for the Cuban Government to declare a “state of emergency due to gender violence.” Likewise, they have advocated for the implementation of a comprehensive law that effectively combats sexist violence. “It is imperative that concrete measures be taken to protect women and prevent more femicides,” both organizations recently insisted.
In the first half of 2024, both groups verified 28 femicides, which represents a decrease of 43% compared to the same period of the previous year. However, they attributed this reduction primarily to increasing difficulties in confirming information, rather than to an actual decrease in violence.
Femicide is not classified as a specific crime in the Cuban Penal Code. The terms “feminicide” or “sexist crime” rarely appear in state media, which only exceptionally report on this type of violence.
Last August, the Government of Cuba reported that, in trials held in 2023, the courts had identified a total of 110 women over 15 years of age murdered by their partners or ex-partners. A recent report by the Attorney General, Yamila Peña, reveals that 72% of the victims were between 25 and 59 years old, 84% of the aggressors were partners or ex-partners, and 31% had a criminal record for violent acts.
At the end of July, the authorities approved the creation of a national system for the “registration, attention, follow-up and monitoring” of sexist violence in the country. However, feminist organizations consider that these measures are insufficient and demand more forceful actions.
“Without official recognition of the seriousness of the problem and without laws that effectively protect women, femicides will continue to occur,” YoSíTeCreo and OGAT warned.
