With this new case, the list of deaths due to gender-based violence on the Island stands at 33 so far this year.
14ymedio, Havana, November 4, 2025 — The observatories Alas Tensas (also see here) and Yo Sí Te Creo en Cuba reported on Tuesday the murder of Miriela Mesa Hernández, 45, in Ciego de Ávila. The NGOs denounced that the case occurred “after days of harassment that were ignored.”
According to the report, the attack against the woman, a 45-year-old teacher at the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes elementary school, occurred on Sunday, November 2, in the town of Falla, in the municipality of Chambas.
According to testimonies gathered by organizations and statements from Mesa Hernández’s niece, Yoania González Castillo, the crime occurred between 6:00 and 7:30 p.m. in a place known to locals as the Parque de las Mentiras [Park of Lies]. The assailant, identified as Osvany Noa, the woman’s ex-partner, attacked her, stole her cell phone and a bicycle, and then fled the scene. Although the organizations do not mention it, in a post this Monday, activist Guillermo Rodríguez Sánchez detailed that the murder allegedly took place in front of Mesa Hernández’s six-year-old daughter.
The couple had separated four months ago, and since then he had been constantly harassing her through Facebook and in public.
The publication also reported that family members and friends claim the couple had separated four months ago and that, since then, he had been constantly harassing her through Facebook and in public.
Neighbors also indicated that, days before the crime, Osvany Noa had broken into a house throwing stones and showing a knife while threatening Miriela Mesa with the message: “This is for you.”
The observatories expressed that the femicide leaves a community “deeply dismayed” by the loss of a woman described as “noble, cheerful and dedicated to teaching.”
Furthermore, they emphasized that this case “once again highlights the lack of effective protection mechanisms against gender-based violence in Cuba. Despite a history of harassment, threats, and public complaints, no preventative measures were taken that could have averted the crime.”
With this new case, the of deaths this year due to gender violence on the Island stands at 33 – according to the count by 14ymedio – seven of which, almost a quarter, were registered in August alone .
Last year, this newspaper counted 52 femicides based on independent records.
Last year, this newspaper recorded 52 femicides based on independent records. According to figures from the Cuban Observatory on Gender Equality, a total of 76 gender-related murders were prosecuted in the country last year, in which the victims were over 15 years old. The organization does not specify the dates on which the crimes were committed, but they most likely occurred in 2023 and 2024.
Furthermore, according to independent counts, from 2019 until this Tuesday, the Alas Tensas and Yo Sí Te Creo observatories in Cuba have documented 303 murders due to gender violence on the Island, “a figure that represents an underreporting of gender violence” in the country.
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