Havana/The young Yeni María Peñas Leyva, 23 years old, was murdered on the night of July 13 by her ex-partner in front of her home, in a neighborhood known as La Fabela, on the outskirts of the municipality of Las Tunas. The feminicide was confirmed this Wednesday by the Alas Tensas Gender Observatory (Ogat).
The organization He also pointed out that Peñas Leyva could have been pregnant at the time of her death, information provided by sources very close to the victim but which has not yet been confirmed. The young woman leaves behind a girl and a young boy.
The first information about the crime began to circulate on social networks after the father of one of Peñas Leyva’s children reported his murder. According to a post on Facebook from communicator Eduardo Maceo Bermúdez, who received the testimony, the young woman was attacked around 11 at night.
Ogat places the crime in front of the victim’s home, in La Fabela, at kilometer 2 and a half of the peri-urban area of Las Tunas, and names a former partner as the alleged aggressor. So far, the man’s identity and whereabouts have not been revealed, nor is it known if he has been detained by the authorities.
With this case, there are 38 femicides counted by 14ymedio so far this year and the fifth confirmed in July
If it is confirmed that Peñas Leyva was pregnant, it would be the first feminicide recorded by the Observatory of a pregnant woman since the murder of Katia Ortiz Figueredo, which occurred on June 5, 2024, also in the municipality of Las Tunas.
With this case, there are 38 femicides counted by 14ymedio so far this year and the fifth confirmed in July. The Alas Tensas count rises to 42, since its list includes crimes against women associated with reasons other than machismo that this newspaper does not incorporate into its registry.
The observatory reported that so far in 2026 they have recorded 19 attempts at feminicide and two murders of men in contexts of sexist violence. They are also investigating 11 other possible femicides and four attempts so far this year.
In his latest report, Ogat once again asked for the collaboration of citizens to document the cases in the absence of official statistics on femicides in Cuba. The independent observatory has repeatedly warned of the difficulties in investigating these crimes in a context marked by the lack of public information and the lack of protection for victims of sexist violence.
