Detainee's release ordered as Alligator Alcatraz closure speculation grows

NAPLES, Fla. (WINK)—As headlines of a possible closure of the Alligator Alcatraz detention facility continue to circulate, those most closely impacted are waiting for a concrete answer.

WINK News spoke with the daughter of a detainee at the facility and a member of the Miccosukee Tribe last week. Both are impacted by this facility in different ways, and both said they won't believe it until they see it, but they hope the rumors are true.

"Once there was a back-and-forth between Trump and DeSantis, that kind of confirmed it for the rest of us," Arianne Betancourt said.

A lot has changed since WINK News first spoke to Betty Osceola and Betancourt last Thursday. Especially for Betancourt's father, a detainee at Alligator Alcatraz.

"His habeas was granted today, and they ruled that he has to be released within 48 hours," Betancourt said. "I know that in less than 48 hours I'll get to hug him. He'll get to sleep on a bed. He'll get to have a hot meal. You'll get to see us. And he'll be free."

Betancourt said that when someone is detained, they cannot be detained for more than 180 days without a reason. Her dad has been at Alligator Alcatraz for four months.

Updates continue to come from reporting states away on Alligator Alcatraz's alleged closure. Those a part of the Miccosukee Tribe want to hear it from right here at home.

"I think we need to hear it from the governor himself, from DeSantis, in an official statement and in writing," Osceola said. "I hope it's true and that they actually do shut down the facility and start returning the landscape back to how they found it before they moved in."

Where this facility sits now is land Osceola said they depended on. She said this is medicinal land, recreational and a place where loved ones are buried.

"I would ask that the area that they would take into consideration is, you know, it's a protected area. It's part of in the footprint of the Big Cypress National Preserve," Osceola said.

When and if the closure of the facility is confirmed, these two said there will be signs.

"There is this lawsuit that is still pending and it's getting close, which happens to be in June, where, you know, we're going to revisit this issue in the federal court," Osceola said.

"Those signs need to be the first thing that's ripped out of the ground. Because people treat it like a tourist attraction. And it's a crime against humanity," Betancourt said.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has said that this was meant to be a temporary facility. WINK News will continue to follow updates on this story.