A Cuban woman from the Campo Florido area in Havana del Este was recently attacked with a machete, according to social media posts by her mother and other family members.
"This is my beautiful daughter. I pray to God to save her and bring her back to me alive. I ask all my friends and family to pray for her, as despite the severity of her injuries, the prognosis is quite favorable. She is conscious and improving. Thank you, Lord, for giving me the chance to get my beloved daughter back," wrote Idelisa Peña on Facebook, identifying herself as the mother of Yidania Santos Peña, the woman who survived the attempted femicide.
The victim’s mother posted a photo of the alleged perpetrator and expressed frustration at the police's lack of action. "This is the bastard who attacked my daughter, but the police in Havana del Este have done nothing. They came last night, stayed less than an hour, and left. They haven’t returned to protect the family. This man is armed. If it were a cow he had killed, they would be on him like 'Tras la huella,'" she lamented.
In another post, she warned, "If the family catches him first, it will be a tragedy because they will kill him."
Diani Karla Peña, who identified herself as the injured woman's cousin, sought help on social media, explaining that 11 people, including four children, live on their farm and fear the assailant might harm others. "Please, we are in a very serious situation. The person who did this to my cousin is still at large, and the authorities are not doing much to find him. As you know, we live on Santa Bárbara Road, El Vaquerito farm. The police have been here, yes, but they are not doing their job properly," she wrote.
She added that she called the police in a panic because "the bastard" was in their yard. "The police came, stayed for a moment, and left. We have no protection. Right now, there are four children and seven adults in my house. We are afraid for the children, and the police don't care. What are they waiting for, another tragedy? If you put up a sign, the place fills with police. If you speak out, the place fills with police. But no police are catching that bastard," she concluded.
Crime reporter Niover Licea identified the attacker as Juan Enrique Jiménez Pacheco and noted that Yidania Santos Peña, who is 43 years old, is a mother of four.
As of September 19, the number of verified femicides in Cuba this year stood at 37, with three attempted femicides, six cases pending investigation, and two gender-related murders of men. The official Federation of Cuban Women (FMC) has acknowledged that over 16,000 women and girls from 9,579 families live in violent situations in the country.
The FMC has also noted an increase in femicides since the pandemic began, though they prefer the term "femicides." In early August, the regime reported that in 2023, 60 cases of gender-based murders of women aged 15 or older were tried in court, with 50 (83.3%) of the victims being killed by their partners or ex-partners, and the rest by other assailants, according to data from the Observatory of Gender Equality in Cuba.
Additionally, last year saw 378 cases of sexual violence tried in court, with several women sustaining injuries from attacks by their ex-partners. In July, the Cuban government established a national system for registering, attending to, monitoring, and tracking incidents of gender-based violence within families, as announced during a Council of Ministers meeting.