US Denies Reports of Venezuelan Migrant Death at ‘Inhumane’ Alligator Alcatraz Facility

Mexico City, Mexico, August 7, 2025 (venezuelanalysis.com) – The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) denied the death of Venezuelan migrant Luis Manuel Rivas Velásquez, after reports from family members claimed he had died at the controversial “Alligator Alcatraz” detention facility in southern Florida. 

Rivas’ partner, Rosana Nádoz, alleged that he died while in US custody due to “negligence” by US authorities. According to Nádoz, Rivas was denied care despite persistent symptoms including fever and chest pain. 

“He was not given medical attention,” said Nádoz in a video shared on social media on Wednesday.

DHS’s Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin denied the claims in a written statement provided to local media.

“Rivas Velásquez fainted and was taken to the hospital out of precaution,” stated McLaughlin.

A joint press release from McEntee Law Group and Lee-Godshall-Bennett LLP alleges that Rivas suffered a severe medical emergency and disappeared for 48 hours at the controversial facility, amid an outbreak of contagious illness and lack of proper medical care.

“We are all sick in this jail. Some are worse than others, it is an emergency,” said Rivas in a statement provided via his lawyers.

Rivas’ sister, Ada Yeniree Velásquez, said the situation inside the facility was a “humanitarian emergency” and called for action to protect the lives of those held inside the detention center.

Meanwhile, Rivas’ partner said that he had signed documentation agreeing to voluntarily be deported back to his native Venezuela but that he had yet to be returned despite his health concerns. 

In their joint statement, Rivas’ lawyers Eric Lee and Chris Godshall-Bennett said their client’s near-death experience should serve as a “wake-up call.”

In a subsequent social-media post, Rivas’ sister and girlfriend apologized for their earlier claim but demanded to be provided with proof that he was alive and well.

A recent New York Magazine investigation exposed dire conditions at Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” detention center, describing maggot-ridden food, overflowing sewage, lack of medical care, and reports of a hunger strike among detainees. Nádoz said that Rivas had complained about his incarceration conditions, consistent with reports about the “inhumane” treatment at the improvised detention facility. 

According to the report, the Florida Immigrant Coalition documented ambulances leaving the site in recent days, presumably in part due to the ongoing hunger strike by detainees.

A former corrections officer at the site identified only as Lindsay described the difficult circumstances facing detainees, saying they are held in tents with large cages holding 35 to 38 inmates each, with approximately 300 people per tent.

“It’s inhumane the way that they’re keeping their residents,” she told local Florida outlet NBC6.  

Despite praise from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem of “Alligator Alcatraz” as a “model” for mass deportation, the New York Magazine report raises serious human rights concerns, especially as most detainees reportedly face no criminal charges. 

Environmentalist groups petitioned a federal court in Miami this week to shut down the facility as they argue it threatens protected lands and wildlife. The groups claim the mega-prison was constructed without the legally required environmental impact review, in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act.

The Alligator Alcatraz detention center was built in early July 2025 on a remote airstrip at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in the Florida Everglades and is operated by the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) under Governor Ron DeSantis’s administration. 

Despite being under state control, the facility functions in coordination with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) through a state–federal partnership, though no legal agreement related to the detention center’s operations has been made available. This arrangement has drawn scrutiny from immigrant rights activists who condemn the lack of transparency.

Immigration rights groups have strongly criticized the Donald Trump administration crackdown on migrants, with Venezuelans paying a particularly heavy price. In March, authorities forcibly removed 252 Venezuelan men from the United States and sent them to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison. Negotiations between Caracas and Washington led to their release and repatriation following four months of detention. Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello confirmed that none of these men were found to have ties to the so-called Tren de Aragua gang.

Those previously held at CECOT accused Salvadoran authorities of systematic torture, beatings, sexual abuse, and medical neglect.

Around 9,000 Venezuelans have been deported from the US this year, with Caracas’ “Return to the Homeland” program facilitating their return.

Edited by Ricardo Vaz in Caracas.

Updated at 3:55 PM to include comments from Rivas and his legal representation.