14ymedio, Havana, 22 March 2022 — The Cuban Women’s Network has denounced this Tuesday the murder of a woman, allegedly at the hands of her partner, four days ago in Cárdenas, Matanzas. The young woman, whose name has not been provided, was 24 years old and died after being shot by a hunting shotgun, which pierced her lungs. Although she arrived at the hospital alive, an operation could not save her life, the collective’s tweet states.
That femicide became known a few hours after another, which occurred on March 14 in Havana, was learned of. The 28-year-old victim’s name was Lisbet Machado and she lived in the municipality of Playa. The alleged murderer, who committed suicide after the attack, had been a partner of the young woman and the father of one of her children, according to information provided by the feminist publication Alas Tensas.
Some sources consulted said that the man, known as Pedro, showed up at the victim’s house to see his son and, on opening the door, cut the woman’s throat. Then the man cut his own throat.
“They had to call the firefighters and the police because they couldn’t open the house, and they took the girl out, but she arrived at the hospital dead,” said witnesses to the events who affirm that the victim’s eldest son, from another relationship, witnessed the murder.
With these two, Alas Tensas has verified six femicides so far this year, those of Mailén Guerra García, Mislaidis Carmenate, Darlín García, and a 21-year-old girl in San Luis, Santiago de Cuba, whose name is not verified.
In 2021, the same publication recorded 36 murders of women, of which 29 were committed by partners or former partners. In 2020, the figure was 32, although it is impossible to verify if the number has increased or if the problem is more becoming visible since there are independent organizations that keep count, since the Government does not have a public registry of this type of murder and, for the moment, the creation of a Sexist Violence Law is moving slowly and is not expected to be available until at least 2026.
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