Murdered in Aguacate, Santiago de Cuba, after discovering a marijuana farm.

Jorge Luis Heredia Cala (April 27, 1973 - March 15, 2024), known as Jorgito, was murdered in March of this year, around eight in the evening, shortly before turning 51. He lost his life while crossing an alley in the town of Aguacate, in Palma Soriano, Santiago de Cuba, the same town where a young mother of three was also killed this week.

The confessed murderer of Jorgito, Yacel Segura, alias Tatico, only served five months of provisional imprisonment. In front of the Prosecutor's Office, he said he had thrown a stone to kill an owl and, unfortunately, hit Jorgito in the head, and nothing could be done for his life either at the hospital in Contramaestre or at the provincial capital's hospital. The Public Prosecutor's Office did not find evidence to justify his continued imprisonment.

The forensic report notes other injuries that were not taken into account when making that decision. According to sources close to the victim's environment, Jorgito received "repeated blows" to the head with "a precise object," as can be seen in a photograph to which CiberCuba has had access, and due to the sensitive nature of the image, we will not reproduce it. A few days before Jorgito's death, he had found a field planted with marijuana in the middle of the mountain, and that field cost him his life.

One dead and no one guilty is the summary of this crime that occurred in a small town where everyone knows each other. In fact, Jorgito, the victim, was a lifelong friend of Tatico, his confessed killer. And everyone knows that Tatico did not act alone but was accompanied by another person known in town as "Hombre." The events unfolded after Jorgito discovered a marijuana crop and told Tatico, in front of witnesses: "I know what you have planted," and apparently, he would have asked for a compensation to keep quiet.

Jorgito was not sure that what he had found in the middle of the forest was marijuana, so he took a sample to the village and asked. They quickly confirmed that it was indeed marijuana. Julián, the sector chief of Aguacate, was aware of this detail and assured the deceased's family that after Jorgito's death, he had requested reinforcements to go dismantle the marijuana farm, but no one was sent to him, and he did not dare to go alone for fear of being killed.

The whole town knows this. The victim's family believes that Julián is not involved in this supposed case of corruption and bribery because they claim he was the one who got Tatico to confess, but he could do nothing either to dismantle the marijuana field or to make the Prosecutor's Office distrust Tatico's version, who never denied that he had killed Jorgito, but in his defense claimed it had been accidental when he threw a stone at an owl. The Public Prosecutor's Office did not mention the other injuries that the body had when it was rushed to Contramaestre, after a neighbor, Ana María Iglesias Cañete, came out screaming down the street that they had killed Jorgito in the alley.

"There are witnesses who saw what happened and now do not want to speak. I don't know if they have been bribed with money or are afraid to talk. At first, they approached the family and told them everything they had seen in detail. They say that a citizen named Arnolis went to Juancito's house, Jorgito's friend, and told him that they were looking for him outside. Since he was a boy who had no enemies or debts, he left confidently. They were waiting for him a little further ahead. And on that same path, they saw Tatico and Hombre, who were together. Later, it became known that someone further ahead came running, saying that they had left Jorgito dead on the road."

The whole town saw it, but as the saying goes, small town, big hell. No one has spoken out to report the murderer or murderers. But quietly, people are commenting, without providing evidence, that since Tatico is married to the daughter of Julio A. Cuevas Pacheco, owner of large plots of land in the area, they have paid a lot of money for him to remain free.

The investigation into the murder of Jorgito (Case 97-2024) has been carried out in the La Territorial unit of Palma Soriano. It was initiated by instructor María Hechavarría and later passed to a captain, who refuses to reveal his name.

The fact is that Jorgito is dead and Tatico is on the street and walks around the town without anyone saying a word. A similar case occurred in Havana with the murder of the young Maykel Sablón Bisec, who was strangled three years ago when he went fishing alone, and to this day, no one has been arrested for the crime.

But the case has regained relevance after another murder occurred in the town this week, that of the young Arianni Céspedes, who was stabbed once by her ex-partner, the wound piercing her lung and killing her instantly, in front of two small children, the children of a neighbor, who have been traumatized by the scene.

The shock in Aguacate is indescribable. In less than a year, there have been three murders in the town, which has led many residents to consider that they live in a lawless place, and they have publicly expressed this.

Violence marked the end of summer in Cuba, with at least 22 murders in August alone, across 11 provinces of the country, which include a mass killing in Ciego de Ávila and 3 femicides, according to the latest monthly report from Cubalex.