55 femicides in Cuba in 2026: young mother killed in Camagüey
Rachel García González, 27, was strangled in Vertientes, Camagüey, on 28 September. Cuba has already surpassed in nine months the femicides recorded throughout 2025.
Cuba records 55 femicides so far in 2026 following death of mother in Camagüey
The Gender Observatory Alas Tensas (OGAT) confirmed on Wednesday a new femicide in central Cuba. Rachel García González, a 27-year-old housewife, was strangled on the morning of 28 September in her home in the La Iglesia neighbourhood, in the rural settlement Los Ángeles, municipality of Vertientes, province of Camagüey.
According to martinoticias.com, the alleged perpetrator—identified by neighbours as the victim's partner—fled after the crime and was captured by police dozens of kilometres from the scene.
With Rachel's murder, the OGAT's record stands at 55 verified femicides so far this year. "In just nine months we have surpassed the 49 femicides recorded during 2025 and there are still three months left for this year to end," stated Ileana Álvarez, director of the independent institution based in Madrid.
For the observatory, the sustained increase demonstrates that gender-based violence on the island does not respond to isolated incidents but to a systemic problem. "We are facing a persistent violence that continues to claim lives whilst Cuban authorities continue to offer no comprehensive policies for prevention, protection and transparency," added Álvarez.
Rachel leaves four underage girls—none of whom are daughters of the alleged perpetrator—orphaned. "A femicide does not end when a woman dies, it leaves girls and boys as orphans, fractures families and traumatises communities," noted the OGAT director. "This is why we insist that these indirect victims must also be recognised and cared for. Unfortunately, the Cuban State does not attend to them," she emphasised.
The crisis crossed national borders with the recent intervention of observatory members before the European Parliament. In that session, the activists denounced the alarming surge in gender-based violence in the country and warned that Cuba has positioned itself as one of the territories with the highest femicide rate in the region.
Source: Google News CU — Crime