Luis Rivas Velasquez was denied access to food and even basic hygiene conditions, his partner denounced.

On Wednesday, journalist Madelein Garcia reported the death of Venezuelan influencer Luis Rivas Velasquez, who died on August 5, while in custody at Alligator Alcatraz, the migrant detention center located in the Florida Everglades.

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Rivas Velasquez experienced fever, chest pain, and open sores without receiving medical attention, according to his partner, Rosana Nadoz. She denounced the Venezuelan influencer had signed a voluntary deportation order but he was not released, and his health deteriorated until he died.

“They left him to die there like a dog,” she said through sobs, denouncing that Rivas Velasquez was denied access to food and even basic hygiene conditions.

Rivas Velasquez was known in Venezuela for his work as a presenter and host at motorsport events, where he had an active community of social media followers.

This week marks one month since Alligator Alcatraz began operations, amid multiple reports of human rights abuses and legal opacity. So far, the administration of President Donald Trump has deported around 600 migrants who were imprisoned at the center, which has a capacity of 2,000 people.

On July 12, Democratic lawmakers reported that Alligator Alcatraz was holding 750 migrants in overcrowded conditions and confined in cages. The Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC) has reported that at least 1,000 people have been detained since its opening on July 3.

The lack of transparency in the operation of this migrant center has also drawn attention. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) does not include Alligator Alcatraz in its official statistics, making independent monitoring difficult. There is also no public registry of who is being held there.

Alligator Alcatraz functions as a key hub in an accelerated deportation strategy being implemented by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), involving direct flights to detainees’ countries of origin and transfers to other states to segregate migrants by nationality.

This model is being driven by heavy investment: through 2029, ICE is set to receive US$45 billion, which would allow for the daily detention of up to 116,000 people, according to the American Immigration Council.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed that negotiations are underway with five Republican-led states to replicate the Florida experience. The state of Florida declared an “emergency” to justify the construction of Alligator Alcatraz, which cost US$450 million.

In response, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Americans for Immigrant Justice are leading two lawsuits challenging the legality of the mass detention and the detainees’ inability to access legal representation. The organization Friends of the Everglades has also filed a lawsuit over the environmental impact of the detention center.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: teleSUR

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