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Arianne Betancourt, daughter of a Cuban who spent six months detained in the controversial immigration center known as Alligator Alcatraz, reacted with bewilderment this Monday after discovering that the President of the United States, Donald Trump, had mentioned her in a post on Truth Social.
On Sunday, Trump wrote on that social network: "Welcome home, Justo Betancourt, whose daughter Arianne fought tirelessly to free her father from Alcatraz prison. Enjoy your freedom together!"
"It is a surprise because I have never supported these policies. I have always been against them," Arianne told Local 10 News. "It is very confusing. I think both I and everyone who read it are confused: why us? And why a Cuban family? I believe it has a lot to do with the current political climate in Cuba and the importance of maintaining the Cuban vote."
Justo Betancourt, a 54-year-old Cuban national, arrived in the United States in 1990. He was arrested on October 29, 2025, when he attended his annual routine appointment with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). According to court documents, he was asked to sign a document in English that he did not understand, presented to him as a registration agreement when in reality it was a self-deportation form.
After being transferred between facilities in Florida and Texas, he was sent to Mexico to carry out the deportation, but that country rejected him and sent him back. He ended up being detained at Alligator Alcatraz for more than four months.
The federal judge Kyle Dudek granted a writ of habeas corpus on May 13, determining that the detention had been erroneous, and ordered his release within 48 hours. Betancourt was released on May 15 at the Krome North Processing Center in Miami.
His health condition upon his release alarmed the family. Arianne reported that her father suffered a stroke during his detention; he came home unable to walk properly and with slurred speech, and his glucose levels were nearly 500 even after receiving insulin.
He also revealed that when his father requested insulin at the center, the guards would respond: "If you wanted insulin, you could get it in Mexico."
Days after his release, Betancourt was hospitalized with suspicion of mini-strokes. The doctors were unable to confirm the diagnosis with an MRI because the electronic ankle bracelet prevented it.
Justo Betancourt also reacted with skepticism to Trump's statement. "When he loses a moment, when a decision doesn't go as he wants, he tries to mock it," he said in Spanish.
Analysts and media such as The Independent indicated that the gesture could be interpreted as a political move aimed at the Cuban-American electorate in Florida, less than six months before the midterm elections in November 2026.
Arianne did not rule out the possibility that the publication could be a veiled threat, but she acknowledged that it at least drew attention to the center. "I want them to shut down operations, but I want it to be treated like a crime scene and for a thorough investigation to be carried out," she stated.
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