The attorney Delianne Quiles, a member of the legal team for the Cuban reggaeton artist Abel Díaz Rodríguez, known artistically as El Chulo, confirmed alarming details about the beating the artist suffered while he remains detained by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the facility known among migrants as “Alligator Alcatraz” in Homestead, Florida.
Quiles stated that he was able to speak directly with the singer inside the detention center, where he assessed his physical and emotional state after the violent episode that occurred when he and other detainees demanded urgent medical attention for an elderly diabetic man who was not receiving his medication.
"This request was met with beatings by immigration officers," reported the lawyer, who claimed that not only El Chulo was assaulted, but also other detainees present at the time of the protest.
According to his testimony, the reggaeton artist appeared visibly depressed, sad, and showed concerning physical symptoms. He reported that after being taken out of his cell, he was moved to a punishment area known among the detainees as “the hole,” where he began to feel dizzy. After being given something to drink, he started to vomit repeatedly.
Quiles explained that the artist expressed deep concern for the overall conditions of the center, which he described as inhumane. According to his account, there are individuals who have been detained for long periods without receiving sufficient food, basic medication, or adequate medical attention.
El Chulo remains dressed only in what appears to be a medical gown, while the air conditioning in the facility is set to temperatures close to 60 degrees Fahrenheit, which exacerbates the constant feeling of cold among the inmates.
“There is not enough food, there are no medications, they are mistreated and beaten,” summarized the lawyer, while confirming that the aggression suffered by the artist was not an isolated incident, but part of a pattern of abuse reported by multiple detainees.
The beating occurred after El Chulo protested the lack of medications for a diabetic immigrant, and adds to other reports of human rights violations within the immigration facility.
ICE arrested the reggaeton artist on January 22 and links him to the Latin Kings gang; however, El Chulo has denied any connection to the criminal group.
During the meeting with his lawyer, the artist explicitly requested a public call to his followers, the Latino community, and the families of other detained immigrants to raise their voices and demand urgent changes.
"Let them demand everything that is happening here and ask for a change, because the conditions in which they are being treated are inhumane," Quiles conveyed, quoting the words of his client.
The case of El Chulo has sparked a growing wave of outrage on social media and among human rights activists, who are demanding an immediate investigation into the practices at the detention center known as "Alligator Alcatraz" and minimum guarantees for dignified treatment of individuals in ICE custody.
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