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Justo Betancourt, a Cuban who has been residing in the United States for over 30 years, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) last October but managed to leave the center this week, although he is in a significantly deteriorated state.
His daughter, Arianne Betancourt, described in an interview with USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect the conditions her father endured during the six months he spent in the detention center: chained for up to 23 hours a day, hungry, and witnessing his fellow inmates being sprayed with pepper spray.
Betancourt, 54 years old, was released early Thursday morning after federal district judge Kyle Dudek granted him a writ of habeas corpus, demonstrating that his attorneys proved he had been wrongfully arrested.
According to the testimony, reproduced by Univisión 23, Arianne and her two brothers picked him up at approximately 2:00 am at the Krome North Processing Center in Miami, where he had been transferred.
"When I saw him get out of the van, and noticed how thin he was, and how difficult it was for him to take each step... I’m happy that he’s home, but I’m also angry about the state he’s in," she declared.
The young woman described her father as so thin that she, weighing 125 pounds, can hug him and wrap both arms around him.
"I've seen him with several layers of clothing and a hoodie; it's as if we hadn’t noticed how small he is under the hoodie. They don't feed them," he added.
Arianne also noted that her father has not been able to walk for the past six months, which has resulted in a loss of mobility. Additionally, he speaks with a slurred speech.
Betancourt suffers from type 2 diabetes and needs to inject insulin twice a day. According to his daughter, the center told him that "if he wanted insulin, he could get it in Mexico."
The reunion was marked by restrictions imposed by ICE agents: they did not allow the family to hug him upon leaving Krome, they searched the car, asked him to put his suitcase in the trunk and get into the vehicle, and prohibited taking photos or videos.
The story of a wrongful arrest
Betancourt, who had been living in the United States for over 36 years, was arrested on October 29, 2025, when he attended a routine annual appointment with ICE, as required each year.
According to court documents, he had completed his probation after numerous prior criminal convictions.
That day, according to his daughter, they made him sign a document in English that he did not understand, telling him it was an annual registration agreement, when in reality it was a self-deportation.
Betancourt was detained in Alligator Alcatraz, then transferred to Krome, and subsequently sent to Mexico to carry out self-deportation. However, Mexico did not accept him and he was returned to Alcatraz, where he remained until his judicial release.
Her family has been working with lawyers and immigrant advocates all this time, in search of "legal avenues, such as a humanitarian bail motion or a medical review" that would allow for her temporary release.
At the same time, they launched a social media campaign calling for their humanitarian release.
"My father was never a burden to this country. He worked, paid taxes, and helped his neighbors. We just want him to be treated with respect and dignity," Arianne stated in November.
"We want our right to live with dignity to be respected. We are not asking for privileges, we are asking for common sense," he emphasized.
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