Espín died in Havana at 4:14 p.m. EDT on 18 June 2007, following a long illness. An official mourning-period was declared from 8 p.m. on 18 June until 10 p.m. on 19 June. A funeral ceremony was held at the Karl Marx Theatre in Havana the day after her death. Thousands of Cubans paid their respects in a receiving line at the Plaza of the Revolution in Havana. Raúl Castro was in the receiving line, but Fidel Castro was not present. The Cuban government released a statement praising her as "one of the most relevant fighters for women's emancipation in our country and in the world." Her body was cremated, and her remains rest in the Frank País Mausoleum, Municipio II Frente in the province of Santiago de Cuba, Cuba. The Vilma Espín elementary school was opened in Havana in April 2013. Espin founded the Frente Continental de Mujeres Contra la Intervención (Continental Women’s Front Against Intervention, FCMCI)  and the Regional Center of the International Democratic Federation of Women for the Americas and Caribbean.