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Three men were sentenced to lengthy prison terms in the United States for their involvement in a human trafficking network that kidnapped and tortured newly arrived Cuban migrants in Florida, while demanding thousands of dollars from their families for their release.
The sentences imposed by a federal judge in Miami reflect the cruelty of a scheme that, according to authorities, pushed to the limit the horrors that many Cubans face when trying to reach the United States.
According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida, Osmel Benítez, 40 years old and a resident of Miami, received 408 months in prison (34 years); Víctor Manuel Pérez Cárdenas, 39 years old and based in Tampa, was sentenced to 210 months (17 years); and Jhonny Walther Izaguirre López, 45 years old, residing in Louisiana, will face 346 months (almost 29 years) behind bars.
The authorities described the case as one of the most violent and dehumanizing episodes linked to human trafficking in South Florida.
It was human trafficking in its most brutal form, marked by kidnapping, extortion, and torture,” stated federal prosecutor Jason A. Reding Quiñones. His message was clear, emphasizing that those who profit from the desperation of migrants will be relentlessly pursued.
The investigation revealed shocking details. In May 2024, the defendants transported a group of Cubans by sea to a deserted area of Key Largo and then took them to a farm in Miami, where the assaults began.
There, according to judicial documents, they were beaten with sticks and machetes, ropes were placed around their necks, and they were simulated to be hanged in order to record videos that were later sent to their families in Cuba and the United States to demand money.
One of the most shocking cases occurred when Benítez and another accomplice forced a migrant to stand on a chair, put a noose around his neck, and hit him with the flat side of a machete while recording the scene to pressure his loved ones. The threats were clear: if they did not pay, they would be killed.
When four of the kidnapped individuals were unable to gather money, Izaguirre López attempted to take them to Louisiana to force them to work in his construction company as a form of "payment," but he was arrested on the Florida highway before he could do so.
The FBI described the defendants' practices as "almost unimaginable" and warned that this case should serve as a caution to those involved in human trafficking networks.
In addition to their sentences, the three men, two Cubans and one Honduran, are facing deportation processes once they complete their sentences.
Three other alleged members of the network are still awaiting trial.
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