Overflowing toilets, meals with worms: Detainees describe ‘inhuman’ conditions at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’

“The conditions in which we are living are inhuman,” said a Venezuelan detainee in a phone interview with The Associated Press. “My main concern is the psychological pressure they are putting on people to sign their self-deportation,” detainee added.

Inside the compound’s white tents, people sleep on bunk beds enclosed by chain-link fencing. Detainees some without any criminal charges stated that they are kept in “zoo cages,” filled with mosquitoes, frogs, and crickets, with no windows and no way to tell day from night.

The facility gathered national attention after US President Donald Trump visited the jail and promoting it as a model of strict immigration enforcement for what he called the “worst of the worst.” But not everyone held at “Alligator Alcatraz” fits that description.

One detainee, according to Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-FL), shouted out during a congressional visit, “I’m an American citizen” Others chanted “Libertad!” Spanish for “freedom,” NBC News reported.

Though visitors were restricted from speaking directly with detainees, lawmakers were visibly shaken.

“There are really disturbing, vile conditions and this place needs to be shut the hell down,” said US Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz after touring the facility. “This place is a stunt, and they’re abusing human beings here,” she told NBC News.

Legal advocates slammed what they say is an intentional effort to restrict detainees’ access to attorneys and the outside world.

“You have due process obligations, and this is a violation of it,” said attorney Katie Blankenship, who traveled hours to visit her Cuban client — only to be told to wait 48 hours for a call that never came.

Blankenship’s client, a 35-year-old man, is reportedly being denied basic hygiene.

“They have no way to bath, no way to wash their mouths, the toilet overflows and the floor is flooded with pee and poop. They eat once a day and have two minutes to eat. The meals have worms,” his wife told the Associated Press.

Attorney Atara Eig called the conditions worse than other detention centres already criticised for medical neglect and poor sanitation.

Despite the criticism, Florida state officials have firmly denied all reports of abuse and neglect.

“These are all complete fabrications. “Every detainee has access to medicine and medical care as needed… unlimited drinking water, showers, and other necessities,” said the spokesperson of Florida Division of Emergency Management, Stephanie Hartman.

Yet, lawmakers were not allowed to bring phones or cameras during their visits, and journalists remain barred from entering.

“Would I want that toilet-and-sink combination at my bathroom at the house? Probably not, but this is a transitional holding facility,” said Republican State Sen. Jay Collins, who found no evidence of squalor during his tour.

Earlier this month, five Democratic state lawmakers were denied entry into the facility, a move they argue violates their authority. They have since sued the DeSantis administration.

The Venezuelan detainee said his tent protested the conditions last week by refusing to go to the dining hall. The response? He says they were left without food all night. A Cuban protester he claims was taken to a punishment cell.