The health and safety of Venezuelan influencer Luis Manuel Rivas Vel squez, whose lawyers are demanding answers after his mysterious disappearance following a medical emergency in the notorious Everglades in Florida, has brought Alligator Alcatraz, the notorious detention facility, back into the news. A week before his detention, Rivas Vel squez, who was arrested by immigration officials in late July, allegedly signed self-deportation documents.
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), he was arrested in Miami for robbery before. Concerns increased, however, when Rivas did not get in touch with his sister Ada on Wednesday. He was seen unresponsive on his bed, receiving CPR from other prisoners before being removed on a stretcher, according to detainees inside the Everglades facility.
There was a great deal of uncertainty, according to The Mirror. According to his lawyer, James Hollis, there is a small detainee group and rumors circulate quickly. Since no one heard anything for days, people began to believe he had passed away.
According to inmates, Vel Squez’s medical assistance was delayed, and they all became anxious since they believed he wouldn’t make it to the hospital. Even though they dialed 911 for assistance, the gate turned away an ambulance. Not knowing if he was dead or alive, his lawyers and family were likewise in a panic. He went to the hospital as a precaution after fainting, according to the DHS, which was confirmed a few days later.
Rivas Vel squez informed his attorneys on Friday that he is still alive and being kept in El Paso, Texas, and that all of the inmates are getting the medical attention they need. The facility told him he had a respiratory infection that caused congestion, but they have refused to give him his medical documents.
Urgent: I just received a call from El Paso from Luis Manuel Rivas Velasquez, a Venezuelan who collapsed in Alligator Alcatraz and has been incommunicado since Thursday. said his health is getting worse and that the guards are refusing to give him medical assistance. After three minutes, the call ended. Assist! I do not wish to pass away here.
August 9, 2025, Eric Lee (@EricLeeAtty)
However, his legal team is concerned that the immigration system is concealing the truth and relocating detainees too quickly for families or attorneys to monitor. The influencer, 38, had previously consented to depart the United States. However, according to his attorneys, preventing his death while in detention is the main objective.
According to his attorney, James Hollis, “We don’t really know what’s going on, and when they say it’s a fainting episode, we can’t really challenge it because we don’t know what the hospital said.”
According to Hollis, the way our judicial system handles immigrants reflects how it handles everyone else. He went on to say that this is a severe warning indicator. The circumstances surrounding Luis Manuel Rivas Vel squez, according to immigration lawyer James Hollis, who has over 13 years of experience, represent more significant and concerning shifts in America.
Luis Manuel Rivas Velasquez is where?
Since Saturday, GVM T has vanished. We asked ICE to confirm his survival, but they didn’t respond. ICE ended the three-minute Saturday call. ICE tried to check on him that night, but El Paso FD refused to let them in. Luis claimed to be growing ill and to be afraid of passing away.Twitter: pic.twitter.com/7OExLwEVkJ
August 12, 2025 Eric Lee (@EricLeeAtty)
Protests, court denials of new orders, and many lawsuits targeting the 79-year-old have all been used to harshly denounce the Trump administration’s draconian deportation practices, but little seems to be changing.
It is increasingly difficult for attorneys to step in since the system is operating more quickly and covertly than before. Depriving people of their rights and deporting them before there is time for legal action appears to be the aim. said James Hollis.
The harsh living circumstances at Alligator Alcatraz have drawn criticism, with some likening it to a prison or Nazi concentration camps. Constructed in less than eight days, the facility is located on former airport property and is designed to hold, arrest, or deport those who entered the United States illegally.
After visiting the prison in July 2025, Representative Maxwell Frost shared a video on TikTok that revealed the conditions. Literally, it’s a spigot that emerges from the restroom. He stated that the food quantities are terrible and that people were perspiring due to the extreme heat.
“Every Floridian should be ashamed,” he continued, characterizing the location as a Latino concentration camp. They were reportedly yelling Libertad (freedom), which seemed like a last-ditch appeal for assistance.
Given all being written about his grandiose initiative, we’re curious to hear what Trump has to say! Is he even interested? Alternatively, he believes that anything is glamorous as long as his party and their goals appear to be clear.
