Authorities have detained a man in the town of Morón, located in Ciego de Ávila province, on suspicion of being responsible for the murder of a 25-year-old woman. This information was reported by the pro-government Facebook page "Avileños de Corazón." According to the source, in the early hours of last Friday, an individual named Asiel Aquino Hidalgo allegedly knocked on the door of a young woman identified as "Doralis" with the intent to "attack her." The report added that his rage was so extreme that it cost the woman her life.
The official account revealed that the suspect managed to evade capture for only a few hours before being apprehended by police. "Avileños de Corazón" did not share details about the relationship between the victim and her attacker but indicated that jealousy was the motive behind the crime. The alleged femicide took place on the island of Turiguanó, within Morón municipality.
Police and Community Swiftly Respond
The quick response of local police and residents in the Manatí area of Turiguanó was crucial in capturing the alleged murderer within just 12 hours, the source noted. However, the report stopped short of labeling the incident as "femicide," a term often avoided by Cuban state media.
As of the latest update, feminist platforms have not commented on the case, which, if confirmed as a femicide, would raise the number of women killed due to gender-based violence this year to 46. On November 4th, the platforms YoSíTeCreo in Cuba and the Alas Tensas Gender Observatory reported 45 verified femicides so far this year, alongside five attempted femicides, six cases pending police investigation, and two gender-motivated murders of men.
Gender Violence Statistics and Legal Framework
In August, the regime disclosed that 60 cases of gender-related killings of women aged 15 and older were tried in courts in 2023. Of these, 50 women (83.3%) were murdered by their partners or former partners, with the remaining cases involving other perpetrators, as per data from the Cuba Gender Equality Observatory. Additionally, there were 378 cases of sexual violence adjudicated, and an unspecified number of women suffered injuries from assaults by former partners.
Notably, Cuba's Penal Code does not specifically define femicide as a crime, nor does it use the terms “femicide” or “gender-based crime.” The government-affiliated Federation of Cuban Women (FMC) has acknowledged that over 16,000 women and girls from 9,579 families are living in violent situations across the country.
In July, the government launched a national system for recording, addressing, monitoring, and tracking incidents of gender violence within family settings.