Venezuelan detainee alleges inhumane conditions at South Florida's "Alligator Alcatraz"
"For us, the conditions are fatal," Enzo Aspite told CBS News Miami, although there are no reported deaths at the facility.
Aspite's family say they only learned of his detention when he called them from inside the facility. The call, which dropped multiple times, was monitored and interrupted by automated warnings.
A check of Aspite's criminal history shows at least seven arrests. He is originally from Venezuela and says U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) took him into custody on July 4 after his Temporary Protected Status expired. He was transferred to the facility on July 5.
CBS News Miami translated Aspite's phone interview from Spanish to English. He agreed to let the station record and broadcast the conversation.
"This is not for human beings," Aspite said. "We bathe one day, yes, and three days no. The lights are never turned off. We have no place for recreation. The food is given at different times. Giving us medication is awful. There is no doctor to see you."
Aspite said he is living under a hot tent that leaks when it rains. "The sound of the rain on the tarp is frightening," he said.
State denies allegations, says facility meets standards
CBS News Miami reached out to ICE and the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) to verify Aspite's claims. ICE referred questions to the state, which denied the allegations.
"There is a 24/7, fully staffed medical facility with pharmacy on site and there is working air conditioning throughout the facility," an FDEM spokesperson said in a statement.
Aspite said he receives one hot and one cold meal each day, typically consisting of a ham and cheese sandwich, an apple and chips. When asked about his last meal, he said he had eaten that morning, but not since the previous afternoon.
"They have us in a cage like chickens," he said. "There are 32 people in each cage. We have no rights here. When we need something, they ignore us."
He also described a lack of privacy. "When we want to use the bathroom, we can't because they see everything," he said. "Above us we have a camera."
Aspite also expressed concerns about sanitation.
"The toilets back up and it's something very horrible," Aspite said.
In response to concerns about sanitation, FDEM said, "All wastewater is hard-pumped into 22,000-gallon frac tanks, maintained below 50% capacity and pumped daily to minimize transfers. Tanks, hoses and connections are fully contained to prevent spills and are regularly inspected to ensure zero environmental impact."
Aspite said he has not signed any documents handed to him. His girlfriend told CBS News Miami that he does not have a lawyer. While Aspite does not want to return to Venezuela, his family said they just want him out of the facility.
"There have been no reported deaths at Alligator Alcatraz," CBS News Miami confirmed, "but Aspite and his family want the public to know what he says is happening inside."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
7 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump, Noem blame NYC border patrol agent shooting on sanctuary city policy, bail reform
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump and his administration Monday sought to use the shooting of an off-duty Customs and Border Patrol agent in a Washington Heights park to bolster his hard-line stance on crime and immigration. As officials charged Miguel Mora Nunez, 21, an undocumented Dominican immigrant with a long rap sheet, Trump blamed the botched robbery on what he called New York's bail reform laws. He denounced 'cashless bail' and blamed the practice for setting 'the worst criminals flooding on our streets.' 'Crime in American cities started to significantly rise when they went to cashless bail,' he wrote on his social media site. 'It is a complete disaster, and must be ended, immediately.' Contrary to Trump's claim, big-city crime has been declining for several years since a COVID pandemic-era spike and is close to multidecade lows. Although Trump didn't specifically mention the Saturday night Washington Heights shooting in his latest post, he earlier called the attack an indictment of lax border enforcement policies. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem took dead aim at immigration in a Manhattan news conference about the shooting, which left the unidentified 42-year-old victim recovering from gunshot wounds. 'There is absolutely zero reason that someone who is scum of the earth like this should be running loose on the streets of New York City,' Noem said. Noem blamed New York's immigrant-friendly sanctuary city policies with allowing Mora to stay out of jail and avoid potential deportation despite his repeated brushes with law enforcement. She called on Mayor Eric Adams and the City Council to reverse the sanctuary city policies, which restrict city police and law enforcement from fully cooperating with federal immigration authorities. 'Make no mistake, this officer is in the hospital today, fighting for his life, because of the policies of the mayor of the city and the City Council and the people that were in charge of keeping the public safe refused to do so,' she added. Border czar Tom Homan said the shooting illustrates the danger facing immigration enforcement agents, even though authorities say there is no evidence the attacker knew the victim was an off-duty border patrol agent. 'Thank God we're not burying one today,' Homan said. Mora, who was born in the Dominican Republic, entered the country illegally through Arizona in 2023, authorities said. He had two prior arrests for domestic violence in New York and was also wanted to face accusations of robbery and felony assault. He was also wanted in Massachusetts over a stolen weapons case, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. A second man, said to be a 22-year-old friend of Mora from the Bronx, was arrested in connection with the attack Monday. _____
Miami Herald
8 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
Prominent Haitian businessman, former presidential hopeful arrested by ICE in South Florida
An influential Haitian businessman and controversial political powerbroker is being detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to immigration court records and sources familiar with the arrest. Pierre Reginald Boulos, an American-born entrepreneur and physician who exercised his influence through connections with top State Department officials and vocal criticism of Haitian presidents and politicians, is being held on immigration violations in Miami after being arrested by ICE agents at his home in Palm Beach. The arrest reportedly took place on Thursday. To date, Boulos is the most high-profile Haitian to be detained by the Trump administration, which in recent months has tried to shorten the deportation protections and work permits for over a half million Haitians temporarily in the United States. His case is complicated by his uncertain immigration status. As a one-time Haitian presidential aspirant, he renounced his U.S. citizenship several years ago. Boulos, 69, is not yet listed in the ICE detention locator system due to a backlog of recent ICE arrests. But sources say he was at Krome North Service Processing Center on Saturday before being moved later that day to a federal detention center in Homestead. ICE did not respond to multiple requests from the Miami Herald about the nature of his violations or confirmation of his detention. But Immigration court records published online on Monday, show that Boulos has a hearing scheduled at 8 a.m. July 31 before immigration judge Jorge Pereira at the Krome Detention Center. The records say 'this case is pending.' It is not clear from the immigration court record or from sources familiar with Boulos' case that his immigration violations are tied to any possible criminal charges. The Boulos case comes amid considerable uncertainty over the fate of tens of thousands of Haitian immigrants. Earlier this month, a federal judge in New York ruled that the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem acted unlawfully by rolling back the deadline for Temporary Protected Status granted under the Biden administration. On Friday, the Trump administration announced that, while disagreeing with the judge's order, it has restored the original Feb. 3 deadline. Still, the administration has said that legal protections from deportations for Haitians will come to an end once the current TPS status runs out. Separately, the U.S. has been also warning in Port-au-Prince that Haitian authorities and foreign diplomats should expect a number of high-profile moves regarding Haitians by the administration as it tries to address the country's ongoing gang take-over. Controversial figure in Haiti Boulos is a highly controversial figure in Haiti, where he long worked as both a medical doctor and businessman while simultaneously wielding considerable influence over national politics. Boulos, who moved back to South Florida four years ago, has not been charged with a crime either in Haiti or the U.S. but he's been subject of countless conspiracy theories and corruption allegations on social media. The founder of the RBoulos Group, he was behind several businesses in Haiti, including Delimart supermarket and the Autoplaza car dealership, which is the Nissan brand dealer in the country. He also sold Chinese-made buses and trucks to the government, and under the late President Jovenel Moïse had the largest share of the sale of construction equipment in the country. Other investments include being part of an group that restructured one of the oldest newspapers in the country, Le Matin newspaper before it was forced to close. In 2009, he also led a group of investors in the purchase of the landmark El Rancho hotel in Petion-Ville, which he restructured and reopened in 2013 as the NH El Rancho. His activism in Haitian politics dates back decades. In the early 2000s, he was among members of the country's elite active in the movement to oust then president Jean-Bertrand Aristide. After his wife was kidnapped in 2003, he moved his family to Miami, where he sometimes resided. Boulos' arrest by U.S. immigration and Customs Enforcement has rattled Haitian elites, given not just his stature but his reputation as a mover and shaker in Haiti's foreign and domestic politics — clout that came from his access to top decision makers in the U.S. and the United Nations, his lucrative government contracts and tens of millions worth of investments. in the country. His ICE case is complicated due to several factors, starting with his immigration status in the U.S. While in recent months Boulos, who had been keeping a low profile, told several close confidants he held U.S. permanent residency. But it is unclear whether his green card was issued on a conditional basis. A source close to the family said Boulos is being accused of not fully disclosing his political activities in Haiti when he applied to remain in the U.S. first through Temporary Protected Status and then a residency application via one of his children. Born in New York, Boulos attended medical school in Haiti and later earned a master's degree in public health from Tulane University in New Orleans. However, it is in business and politics that gave him such notoriety in Haiti, capped by trying to make a bid for the presidency. Because candidates cannot hold citizenship in two countries, he renounced his U.S. citizenship. In 2021, he presented himself as a candidate in the country's not-yet scheduled elections. His presidential ambitions were described in a May 2021 filing by a lobbying firm he contracted for $10,000 a month, according to documents submitted under the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration. 'Dr. Reginald Boulos is considering running for the Presidency in the country of Haiti in November 2021,' the Denver-based firm said, describing the businessman as 'a respected medical doctor, businessperson and creator of the MTV Ayiti political party.' 'Dr. Boulos is interested in building constructive partnerships with leaders in the United States government and the Haitian-American diaspora community,' the firm added. 'Dr. Boulos' has a vision for rebuilding Haiti the way that he both built a successful medical practice and multiple, successful businesses.' At the time, Moïse was the target of multiple protests and accusations of trying to be a dictator. Two months later, he was assassinated in his bedroom in the hills above Port-au-Prince, sending Haiti into a spiraling chaos that continues until today. Since then, the country has been in a tailspin with violence escalating by armed gangs, who are accused of being supported by members of the country's elite and politicians. The Trump administration has been targeting illegal immigration aggressively since January. Haitians who entered the U.S. under the Biden-era humanitarian parole program and others who have Temporary Protected Status are now being targeted for deportations. The administration has reversed its position that Haiti is a dangerous place, saying conditions have improved. However, the United Nations and others have said conditions have gotten worse due to the onslaught of armed gangs that are expanding beyond Port-au-Prince, driving displacement and hunger. Gangs have also been targeting members of the country's elite through kidnappings and ransom demands, the burning of their businesses in recent months.
New York Times
9 minutes ago
- New York Times
Minnesota Lawmaker Convicted of Burglary Plans to Resign, Ending Democratic Majority
A Minnesota state senator who was convicted of burglary said on Monday that she would resign from the Legislature by Aug. 4. Her departure would leave the chamber with equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans until a special election can be held to fill her seat and break the tie. By stepping down, Senator Nicole Mitchell, a Democrat, is likely to avoid the possibility of being removed from office. The decision also gives her party a chance to replace her and regain a majority if they win a special election. Ms. Mitchell carried her district in the suburbs of Minneapolis and St. Paul by a nearly 18-point margin in 2022. Ms. Mitchell was arrested in April 2024 and accused of breaking into her stepmother's home. She maintained her innocence after her arrest, and for more than a year resisted calls by Republicans for her to resign or be expelled. Even so, she was limited to working on the periphery of the Legislature. Though her fellow Democrats continued to rely on her vote as she awaited trial, Ms. Mitchell no longer participated in caucus meetings and did not have committee assignments this year. After a jury in Becker County convicted Ms. Mitchell on Friday of two felony charges, legislative leaders from both parties said they expected her to resign. Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, is expected to call a special election in the district, which is considered solidly Democratic. Ms. Mitchell faces up to 20 years in prison on the more serious charge on which she was convicted. She has been allowed to remain free ahead of her sentencing. Ms. Mitchell announced her resignation on Monday in a statement distributed by one of her lawyers, Dane DeKrey. The statement said she planned to work on finishing up legislative projects, helping staff members find new employment and arranging new health insurance for a family member before resigning on or before Aug. 4. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
