A group of hundreds of Cubans protested this Sunday at the Alligator Alcatraz detention center due to the poor conditions of the facility and demanding their freedom.
The protest and testimonies of several inmates from I220-B who have signed their deportation and wish to leave the US, but in some cases have been detained for over 50 days, were broadcast live via CiberCuba by journalist Tania Costa.
The catalyst for the protest this Sunday, which, according to testimonies collected by CiberCuba, spread throughout the detention center, was an incident in the dining hall after an "elderly gentleman" stripped in protest of the poor food quality and was beaten by the guards.
In response to the Cuban protesters against this injustice, the guards reacted with blows and pepper spray
“It is an abuse against humanity (...). We are shouting for freedom, showing that we are not dangerous, that we are not violent, that we are united brothers,” said one of the protesters in a phone communication to Cibercuba.
This Cuban explained that he served his sentence and for 13 years did not commit any crimes in the U.S., yet they still want to keep him locked up in the detention center for 180 more days.
Another inmate, Abel Ducanses Ceballos, stated that "they are not giving us hot water, they won't let us shave, they are treating us poorly."
Some have been detained for 50, 70, or even 90 days, "the food is terrible, and there's tremendous hunger."
"They are treating us as if we were on the path to death," he lamented
It seems that following the magnitude of the protest this Sunday, the private company responsible for managing the center attempted to negotiate with the prisoners to agree on improvements in the conditions of their confinement.
Hundreds of Cubans remain detained at the facility known as Alligator Alcatraz, in Florida, without clear information about their immigration status and under constant threats of deportation.
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