Juan Pablo Jaramillo, a Colombian man imprisoned in the Alligator Alcatraz prison in Florida, has reported inhumane treatment and human rights violations at this detention center recently opened by President Donald Trump.
Jaramillo’s voice, isolated in this Florida jail surrounded by alligators, joins other Latin Americans denouncing degrading treatment and unsanitary conditions at the facility recently opened by U.S. authorities to hold undocumented migrants.
Colombian reports inhumane treatment in US Alligator Alcatraz
Colombian national Juan Pablo Jaramillo, who shared his testimony through intermediaries with the Colombian media outlet W Radio, remains isolated in the jail promoted by Governor DeSantis in Florida.
According to this testimony, authorities are holding him deprived of his liberty under conditions of extreme neglect without any explanation, where essential rights like healthcare are being violated. This situation may contravene the Eighth or Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibit deliberate indifference to the serious medical needs of detainees or prisoners.
“I’m on the verge of losing my mind,” stated the Colombian, due to not receiving essential medication he claims he needs to live. Additionally, Jaramillo asserts he doesn’t even have access to water and reports that the prison keeps lights on 24 hours a day, making sleep impossible.
He similarly maintains that access to toilets, showers, or basic hygiene conditions is nonexistent.
“They are not giving medicine to people with health problems. We don’t have access to water. We can’t go out to the yard for recreation. They took away my Bible and said there’s no right to religion here. My Bible is the only thing keeping me faithful, and now I’m losing that,” affirmed the Colombian.
Sanitation complaints 10 days after ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ opening
This Colombian’s testimony adds to those of other Latin Americans imprisoned in Alligator Alcatraz, who describe an unsanitary penitentiary center lacking minimal hygienic conditions.
In this regard, several international media outlets reported complaints about a mosquito infestation in the area that worsens the already poor sanitary conditions and endangers the inmates’ physical health.
This is compounded by deficient infrastructure, characterized by feces on the floor and poor ventilation, which significantly raises temperatures inside the detention facility.
These outlets cite witnesses on-site who state U.S. authorities show no interest in resolving this situation.
In fact, this same week saw the testimony of Cuban reggaeton artist Leamsy Izquierdo, known professionally as “La Figura.” Izquierdo denounced in a phone call to his partner the precarious and alarming conditions under which he is held in the new immigration detention center.
“They have us here like dogs, they’re giving us only one meal a day,” the Cuban denounced in a phone conversation with his girlfriend.
Controversy after Trump’s anti-immigration symbol
Alligator Alcatraz was inaugurated on July 1 by U.S. President Donald Trump. It is an immigration detention center located at Dade-Collier Airport within the Everglades, 50 miles west of Miami, Florida.
Built in record time—in just eight days—using tents, trailers, and prefabricated structures, the complex has an initial capacity for 3,000 detainees, with plans to hold up to 5,000.
Surrounded by swamps infested with alligators, pythons, and mosquitoes, authorities promote it as a “natural perimeter” to deter escapes, with Trump joking that inmates should “learn to escape from an alligator.”
Supported by Governor Ron DeSantis and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the center is operated by the Florida National Guard under DHS supervision, with part of its US$450 million annual cost reimbursed by FEMA.
However, it has drawn sharp criticism: Human rights defenders have called it “inhumane,” while the Native Miccosukee and Seminole groups and environmental groups denounce severe ecological impacts, invasion of sacred lands, and precarious sanitary conditions.
Ongoing complaints from detainees and human rights associations point to a lack of water for hygiene, limited meals, and insufficient medical care, leading to demands for independent inspections.
Nevertheless, Alligator Alcatraz now stands as a symbol of the most draconian immigration stance of the Trump era in the United States.