14ymedio, Havana, December 19, 2023 — The independent observatories Alas Tensas and Yo Sí Te Creo en Cuba (YSTC) confirmed on Tuesday a new violence against women murder, that of Mayelín Rodríguez, in Camagüey. With it, the number of femicides on the Island rises to 83 since January.
Little is known about Rodríguez’s murder. So far, the platforms revealed that the woman was murdered on December 11 in the vicinity of a penitentiary in the town of Sola, in the Camagüey municipality of Sierra de Cubitas.
The alleged murderer was her partner; no other data is known in addition to the fact that he may have committed suicide after killing the woman. The platforms also pointed out that the victim is survived by two minor children.
Other details, such as Rodríguez’s age and the motivation for the crime are also not known. Activists believe that his second surname may be “Vals.”
Alas Tensas and YSTC also verified the femicides this December of Yailén Matamoros and Melani García, which had already been reported by the independent press.
Some posts on social networks allege that the aggressor had a criminal record for which he served time and that he may have committed suicide after the crime
Matamoros, 35, was attacked last Saturday by her ex-partner in San Antonio de los Baños. She was stabbed 33 times, a resident of the neighborhood told 14ymedio. According to the source, the alleged murderer attacked her after learning that the woman had a new romantic relationship.
Some publications on social networks allege that the aggressor had a criminal record for which he had served time and that he may have committed suicide after the crime. Other stories say that a relative of the victim killed her as revenge.
The second victim, Melani García, 16, was murdered last Saturday in Havana. A post by a relative of the teenager pointed to a man whose identity responds to the initials P.J.S. as the alleged aggressor, but it did not reveal his link with the victim. Another publication pointed out that there could be two others involved in the case and that they had fled. According to the same source, García was the mother of a two-year-old boy.
The Attorney General of the Republic, Yamila Peña Ojeda, reported last Saturday that since 2020 and until the end of October 2023, 117 violent deaths of women have been reported on the Island. The provinces of Matanzas, Havana, Santiago de Cuba, Granma and Guantánamo have the highest case rates.
During the VII Plenary of the Communist Party, it was also indicated that the Cuban Observatory on Gender Equality, created in 2021, was updated with the User Manual, to facilitate web browsing. The secretary general of the ruling Federation of Cuban Women (FMC), Teresa Amarelle Boué, said that there is still no public system of statistical information on the subject.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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