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Cuban immigrants detained at the migration center known as Alligator Alcatraz reported to CiberCuba the scarcity of food and the harsh conditions in which they remain confined, many of them for several months.
One of the inmates claimed that over the weekend a protest broke out in the facility because the amount of food is very limited and that some detainees have lost up to 20 pounds in just two months.
According to the testimony, breakfast usually consists of a small portion of egg, without cereal or milk. At noon, they receive a box containing a sandwich and an energy bar, which they consider insufficient.
“ We are in chicken cages,” said one of the detainees to CiberCuba while describing the conditions of the center.
According to testimonies, no more immigrants have entered there in recent weeks, but there are still around 1,000 inmates, many of them elderly Cuban refugees aged between 70 and 80, who are also suffering from the low temperatures inside the facilities.
The detainees stated that some aspects have improved after the protests in December highlighted by CiberCuba, such as access to clean water and medications.
However, they claim that the conditions remain very harsh. They report that they do not have televisions, nor basic personal hygiene items, and that they are also not allowed to receive visits from family members or to meet with their lawyers. "We don't even have a comb," they stated.
Many of the Cubans detained have been at the immigration center for nearly three months, while migrants of other nationalities usually stay only two to three weeks before being transferred.
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