(NewsNation) — Two brothers vacationing in Orlando were detained after a traffic stop earlier this month and are being held at Alligator Alcatraz, according to multiple reports.
One brother, 26-year-old Carlos Martin Gonzalez, was originally on a tourist visa, working to obtain a green card, his father told a local news outlet. His wife is a United States citizen.
His brother, originally from Mexico, and he were pulled over by Florida Highway Patrol on Wednesday.
Their father, Don Martin Gonzalez, told WSVN he traveled to Orlando from Mexico City, and he described the facility as a closed space with artificial lights on 24 hours a day.
The brothers’ detention has drawn international attention, with the Mexican Consulate issuing a travel warning to its citizens. Mexico’s president is demanding their “immediate” return.
“They are in something like cages. They’re like chicken coops. That’s what they’re telling me, so one is in one, and the other is in another. With, I think, like 36 people, or something like that, or more, per cage,” the father said. “This is a very harsh prison. … You’re not allowed to bathe, only every four days. The water given to drink is dirty. You drink as little as possible so they don’t get sick, while there are a lot of mosquitoes. They have them chained to the floor, hands and feet.”
