Madrid/Two women were murdered by their partners on November 8 and 9 in Manzanillo, Granma, and Nueva Gerona, Isla de la Juventud, respectively. The victims are Juana María Guzmán Torres, 54, and Yasmina Ruano González, 32. Both crimes were confirmed this Tuesday by the Gender Observatory of Tense Wings (Ogat) and raise to 59 the femicides counted by 14ymedio in Cuba so far in 2026.
The first occurred last Sunday in the La Cañada neighborhood, in the city of Manzanillo. Guzmán Torres, known as Mayiwas an early childhood educator and, according to the feminist platform, died at the hands of her partner. Ogat verified that the aggressor was arrested by the Police.
The victim leaves two adult children. In its statement, the observatory conveyed its condolences to her family and those who had her as a “lord” in their childhood, as well as to the people who “mourn her today on social networks.”
‘Alas Tensas’ indicated that the murder of Yasmina Ruano occurred in front of the victim’s young son, between six and eight years old.
A day later, on Monday, Yasmina Ruano González was murdered in her home in the 26 de Julio neighborhood, known as Francoy, in Nueva Gerona, Isla de la Juventud. Tense Wings He indicated that the “alleged aggressor” was also his partner and that the crime occurred in front of the victim’s young son, between six and eight years old.
The platform described the situation of the minor as especially serious, who witnessed the murder of his mother and “is left in a situation of aggravated helplessness because his father does not live in Cuba.” For this reason, it demands “specialized, timely and sustained psycho-emotional care,” in addition to a safe environment of care and support.
According to community sources consulted by the organization, the murderer was arrested that same day by the Police. Ruano González also leaves behind a daughter, whose age the observatory has not been able to specify.
With these two deaths, Tense Wings counts 63 femicides in Cuba since January, four more than 14ymediowhich does not consider the murders of women in assaults or other random circumstances to be gender-based.
The two new crimes are added to other cases of sexist violence recorded in recent weeks. On October 30, Yarielys Gigato Medina was murdered in Pinar del Río by a former partner who later turned himself in to the authorities. The woman, a mother of three children, was hit with a blunt object and attacked with a knife, according to information collected by the observatory. Ileana Álvarez, director of Ogat, then denounced the “shocking cruelty” of the crime.
Nine days before, on October 21, Marili Reina Fajardo, 45 years oldhad been murdered in Brisas del Mar, municipality of Habana del Este. His body appeared with “signs of extreme violence and sexual assault,” according to Tense Wingswhich included the case among the femicides under observation while the investigations progressed.
That same month, The observatory confirmed the death of Ana Vivian Suárez Cruz as femicidea 21-year-old girl, seven months pregnant, who had been found dead on August 13 in La Palma, Pinar del Río. His ex-partner was detained as the main suspect, while the possibility that the crime had been presented as a suicide was being investigated.
While femicides continue to accumulate in Cuba, the state justice system does not even publicly identify the victims in its official statements
While femicides continue to accumulate in Cuba, the state justice system does not even publicly identify the victims in its statements. On November 4, the Popular Provincial Court of Ciego de Ávila announced a life sentence without revealing the name of the murderer or the two people he killed in August 2025 in Florence. It was Adrián Cruz Díaz, who murdered his ex-partner, Marialina García Borroto, and her romantic partner, Abel Morales Castro. The convicted man had already served a prison sentence for another murder.
To the femicides confirmed this year, the observatory adds 38 attempted feminicides and two murders of men in contexts of sexist violence. It is also investigating another 11 possible femicides and 18 attempts that occurred in 2026, along with 12 possible sexist murders and five attempts corresponding to 2025.
Among the cases pending clarification, Ogat demands access to the investigation reports of the deaths of Anais Tamayo Puente, Danaibis Tamayo Ramírez and Odalis Brizuela Zayas. The platform also keeps the case of Bárbara Sánchez González under observation as a possible feminicide suicide.
