Alligator Alcatraz, the infamous detention facility, is back in the headlines for the health and safety of Venezuelan influencer Luis Manuel Rivas Velásquez, whose lawyers are demanding answers following his mysterious disappearance after suffering a medical emergency in the infamous Everglades in Florida. Rivas Velásquez, who was taken into custody by immigration authorities in late July, had reportedly signed self-deportation papers a week prior to his arrest.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claims he has a prior robbery arrest in Miami. Meanwhile, concerns grew after Rivas failed to contact his sister Ada on Wednesday. Detainees inside the Everglades facility reported seeing him unconscious on his bed, receiving CPR from fellow inmates before being taken away on a stretcher.
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As per The Mirror, “There was a lot of confusion. The detainee community is small, and rumors spread fast,” said his attorney, James Hollis. “People started assuming he had died because no one heard anything for days.”
Inmates say medical help was delayed for Velásquez, and all the detainees panicked as they thought he would not make it to the hospital. They even called 911 to get help, but an ambulance was turned away at the gate. His family and lawyers were also terrified, unsure if he was dead or alive. Days later, the DHS said he had only fainted and went to the hospital as a “precaution.”
On Friday, Rivas Velásquez contacted his lawyers and told them that he is alive and currently held in El Paso, Texas, claiming that all detainees are receiving proper medical care. The facility has refused to hand over his medical records, but told him he had a respiratory infection, which led to congestion.
Urgent: Luis Manuel Rivas Velasquez, Venezuelan who collapsed in Alligator Alcatraz & then incommunicado since Thurs, just called me from El Paso. Said his health is deteriorating & guards denying pleas 4 medical help. Call cut off after 3 min. “Help! I don’t want to die here.”
— Eric Lee (@EricLeeAtty) August 9, 2025
Yet, his legal team worries that the immigration system is hiding what’s really happening and moving detainees around too fast for lawyers or families to keep track. The 38-year-old influencer had already agreed to leave the U.S.. Still, his lawyers say the top priority is making sure he doesn’t die in custody.
“We aren’t really sure what’s going on, and when they say it’s a fainting episode, we can’t really challenge it because we don’t know what the hospital said,” his lawyer, James Hollis, claimed.
“The way we treat immigrants shows how our legal system treats people in general,” Hollis said. “This is a serious warning sign,” he added. James Hollis, an immigration attorney with over 13 years of experience, says the situation surrounding Luis Manuel Rivas Velásquez reflects more profound, more troubling changes in America.
Where is Luis Manuel Rivas Velasquez?
Gvm’t has disappeared him since Saturday. We requested ICE confirm whether he is alive, no reply. Sat call was 3 min, cut-off by ICE. That night El Paso FD denied entry by ICE to check on him. Luis said he was getting sicker & feared dying. pic.twitter.com/7OExLwEVkJ
— Eric Lee (@EricLeeAtty) August 12, 2025
The Trump administration has been brutally condemned for its ruthless deportation policies, from protests to rejections of new orders by judges to several lawsuits slammed at the 79-year-old; everything has been done, yet nothing seems to change.
“The system is working faster and more secretly than ever, and that makes it harder for lawyers to intervene. The goal seems to be to strip people of their rights and deport them before there’s time for legal action.” James Hollis said.
Alligator Alcatraz has been slammed for its inhuman living conditions, allegedly comparing them to Nazi concentration camps or a prison. The facility, which was built in just over eight days, is on abandoned airport land and is meant to keep those who entered the USA illegally detained, arrested, or deported.
Rep. Maxwell Frost exposed the conditions via a video on TikTok after he visited the facility in July 2025.“It’s literally a spigot that comes from the toilet… The food portions are horrible, it was very hot… I saw people sweating,” he added.
“Every Floridian should be ashamed,” he said, describing the site as an internment camp “full of Latinos.” Reportedly, they were shouting “Libertad” (freedom), which seemed to be a desperate cry for help.
We wonder what Trump has to say to all that’s being written about his ambitious project! Does he even care? Or for him, everything is all glittery as long as his party and their agenda shine bright on the surface.
