Havana/The Alas Tensas observatory reported this Monday the first feminicide of the month in Cuba. Gloria Almanza Céspedez, 52, was murdered in her home by her ex-partner on May 1, in the Los Mangos neighborhood, in San Miguel del Padrón, Havana.
The communicator Niover Licea, who cites testimonies from residents of the area on his Facebook page, explained in a post This Sunday, the incident occurred at night, when the woman’s ex-partner attacked her with a knife, causing a fatal wound at chest level.
According to the same report, neighbors claim that “it was not the first time that the aggressor had committed violence, since he had a history of abusive behavior in previous relationships, including attacking another woman who worked as a teacher.”
This version was corroborated by Alas Tensas, which reported that, “once again, the lack of prevention on the part of the police is demonstrated, since the aggressor had been reported by the victim.”
“Once again, the lack of prevention on the part of the police is demonstrated”
Regarding the attacker, Licea reported that “in the last few hours, it was confirmed that he surrendered to the authorities, so he is already in police custody while the investigations progress.”
Gloria Almanza, mother of two young women, was a teacher in a church in the community, reported the NGO, which warned “about the rise in attempted feminicides so far this year.” It also documented that there is “a painful case of a teenager who died in unclear conditions, for which access to the investigation report is needed.”
In its message, Alas Tensas reported that another 12 cases of possible femicides are under investigation, which, if confirmed, would considerably increase the number.
According to the record of 14ymedioWith this case, a total of 17 deaths due to sexist violence have been recorded in Cuba so far in 2026. The most recent documented case had been that of Mariolis López Silio37 years old, who was attacked by her ex-partner with a “clean shot on the block, around 10 or 11 at night” on April 24, according to a relative of the woman who spoke to this medium under anonymity.
There is a “higher incidence” of femicides committed in the victims’ homes by their partners
Although Alas Tensas has reported 21 deaths so far this year, most of them intimate partner crimes, some deaths have been recorded in different circumstances, such as that of Yarisleidis Saavedra Hernández or that of Olimpia Pérez, a 79-year-old woman who was found dead in her home in Mayabeque, on March 2.
The observatory has warned in previous messages about a “higher incidence” of femicides committed in the victims’ homes by their partners and ex-partners.
According to an analysis by typology of the femicides verified in 2025 by Alas Tensas, 83.3% of the murders recorded last year were carried out by the couple. “The persistence of gender violence in the area of emotional relationships is confirmed as the main risk scenario,” he indicates.
Likewise, it states that “the marked concentration of femicides of partners and ex-partners indicates that the home and intimate relationships continue to be spaces of high vulnerability, in a context where unequal power relations persist and where institutional mechanisms of prevention, protection and care are insufficient or non-existent.”
