MIAMI, United States. – The Supreme People’s Court (TSP) ratified the sentence of perpetual deprivation of liberty imposed on Víctor Luis Hozman Reyes, the confessed author of the brutal murder of three people—a seven-year-old boy and his parents—on the El Resplandor farm, located in the Bellotex distribution, in the Pueblo Nuevo popular council of the city of Matanzas.
The crimewhich happened in May 2023, shocked the entire community due to the viciousness with which it was perpetrated.
The criminal chamber of the Supreme People’s Court examined the appeal filed by Hozman Reyes, who “intentionally and with the use of blunt and sharp instruments caused the death of the three people in a ruthless manner,” as reported this Thursday the Caribbean Channel of Cuban Television.
After committing the triple homicide, the perpetrator remained in the victims’ own home, “drank alcoholic beverages and took with him a significant amount of money and various belongings.”
At the hearing, the judges assessed documentary, testimonial and expert evidence that confirmed the guilt of Hozman Reyes for three crimes of murder and one of theft. The current criminal legislation in Cuba establishes that murder can be punished with sentences ranging from 20 to 30 years of deprivation of liberty, life imprisonment or even the death penalty.
Finally, the sentence of life imprisonment handed down by the First Criminal Chamber of the Popular Provincial Court of Matanzas was ratified.
In the session held in Matanzas, the Supreme People’s Court declared the appeal filed by the sanctioned person inadmissible, ratified the decision adopted by the Popular Provincial Court of Matanzas and confirmed the sanction of perpetual deprivation of liberty.
The deceased seven-year-old boy was murdered along with his mother and father, identified as Linet Lucía Medina Guevara and Maykel González Medina. According to testimonies, both victims had known the attacker for years. Hozman Reyes, former military man and owner of a mechanics workshop in the same town where he perpetrated the crime, was arrested in May 2023 in Playa Jibacoa, Mayabeque province, when he was trying to flee the country.
With the ruling of the Supreme People’s Court, the sentence of life imprisonment against Hozman Reyes is final and thus establishes the maximum sanction allowed by the Cuban justice system for a crime that, according to the authorities themselves, was committed with extreme cruelty.
The sentence, the authorities indicate, does not allow further appeal. In the coming days, the parties involved will be notified in writing, according to the Caribbean Channel report.
The crime, which shocked the Island and particularly Matanzas, was one of the peaks of insecurity experienced in the country in 2023. Independent organizations have pointed out that the wave of violence in Cuba has skyrocketed in recent years, along with the adverse social and economic conditions that Cubans face.
