Femicide number 57 in Cuba: 58-year-old mother killed in Cárdenas whilst defending her daughter
Nilda Díaz Santana died on 2 October in Cárdenas when she attempted to protect her daughter from an attack by her ex-partner. It is the 57th verified femicide in Cuba in 2026.
Mother killed in Cárdenas whilst placing herself between her daughter and the assailant
Nilda Díaz Santana, aged 58, was killed on 2 October in her home in the rural neighbourhood of Merceditas, in Cárdenas, province of Matanzas, whilst attempting to protect her daughter from an attack perpetrated by her ex-partner. This was reported by the Alas Tensas Gender Observatory (OGAT), citing family and community sources.
According to adncuba.com, the alleged assailant forced his way armed into the home with the intention of attacking his ex-partner, who had already been a victim of violence by the same man. During the shooting, Nilda died; her daughter and other family members were injured.
The alleged perpetrator turned himself in to police on the same day of the attack. To date, no details have been made public regarding his identity or the charges he will face.
57th femicide verified in Cuba so far in 2026
The case is the 57th femicide verified by OGAT in Cuba in 2026. As of 5 October, the observatory had also recorded 27 attempted femicides and two murders of men in contexts of feminicidal violence. The organisation is investigating 11 possible femicides and 11 attempted femicides from that same year, as well as additional cases reported in 2025.
OGAT warns that these figures reflect only the cases it has been able to document and verify through available sources, given that the Cuban regime does not release official information on this matter.
Second femicide in a matter of days; the assailant already had a murder on his record
The Cárdenas crime comes just days after another femicide recorded in Taco Taco, municipality of San Cristóbal, province of Artemisa. The victim, Idania Castillo Sacre, also 58 years old, was intercepted by her ex-partner whilst preaching as a Jehovah's Witness and taken to the man's home, where she is believed to have been killed.
In that case, the alleged assailant attempted to take his own life after the crime, but survived and was detained. The incident generated particular concern because the man had already served a sentence for the murder of the mother of his children in 2010.
Cuban legislation does not classify femicide as a specific crime
Both cases reflect a pattern that independent observatories have repeatedly pointed out: the presence of ex-partners and prior histories of violence in the femicides documented on the island.
The new case reopens the debate on Cuba's institutional response to gender-based violence. In February 2026, ADN Cuba published a report documenting that Cuban legislation does not recognise femicide as a specific crime and therefore does not include mechanisms aimed at its prevention or comprehensive reparation for victims and survivors.
That same report included cases in which murdered women had previously reported their attackers. According to the cases gathered, the authorities received the reports, but did not adopt sufficient preventive measures or restraining orders were not enforced.
Source: Google News CU — Crime