4 July 17-23, 2025 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | TIKTOK, YOU’RE FIRED Alligator Alcatraz contractor says he was canned for sharing videos. BY ALEX DELUCA H e came to Alligator Alcatraz for a paycheck. He left with a TikTok following and a plan to take the place down — though not for the same reasons as everyone else. While much about Alligator Alcatraz re- mains a mystery, from exactly how many peo- ple are being detained at the facility to who is being brought in, TikTok user @skitheteam- roski began posting a series of viral videos from inside the makeshift immigration de- tention camp recently thrown together by the state deep in the Everglades. In the first video, the man, who appears to be a contractor or staff member of some sort, films himself lounging on an orange-and- navy-blue bunk bed inside what appears to be a dorm at the facility. Wearing light-washed jeans, he pans the camera around the empty room. “LIVE AT ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ... TUNE IN FOR THE ONLY AVAILABLE LIVE FOOTAGE FROM THE ‘CONCEN- TRATION CAMP’ THAT TRUMP BUILT,” the video is captioned. Another video appears to show the inside of a laundry tent: a large white structure filled with laundry carts and rows of washers and dryers. A third video, set to Empire of the Sun’s “Walking on a Dream,” remixed with “You just gotta keep livin’ man. L-I-V-I- N,” an infamous Matthew McConaughey line from Dazed and Confused, shows him riding in a golf cart through what appears to be the campus. In one of his latest clips, apparently filmed in the staff dining hall, he sits at a long table eating Maruchan instant ramen and what looks to be some sort of mystery meat or bread. People can be seen in the background lining up for a meal. “It doesn’t look very appetizing, does it?” he asks while prodding the unidentifiable lump of food. He then tosses the container into the trash. “A lot of officers quit just because they were trying to help out the residents/ inmates,” he says in a TikTok story posted July 8. “And their bosses kept telling them, ‘If you help them out, like give them water, take them to the bathroom, you will be fired.’” As of July 9, his videos had racked up more than 2 million views. In a message to New Times via Instagram DM, the man says he was fired for sharing the videos online. A TikTok he posted on July 8 shows what appears to be a trespass warning from the facility. He declined an interview, saying he could not speak further about his experience at Al- ligator Alcatraz “without compensation.” “I’m really not trying to elaborate more than I already have unless I’m compensated for doing so,” he wrote via DM. A spokesperson for Gov. Ron DeSantis’ of- fice did not respond to New Times’ request for comment about the TikToker, including a question about who had employed him. Last week, President Donald Trump, De- Santis, and their Republican allies officially unveiled the facility at the site of the Dade- Collier Training and Transition Airport, a lit- tle-used airstrip in the middle of the Everglades. Florida Division of Emergency Management quickly built the site, which of- ficials claim will detain more than 3,000 peo- ple. It began holding migrants late last week. Since the state announced the plan, Friends of the Everglades and other veteran conservationists have pushed back in hopes of protecting the land and its vital ecosystems, home to countless habitats and endangered species, including the West Indian manatee, American crocodile, and Florida panther. The TikTok videos from inside the facility come as major questions about the site re- main unanswered, and as early reports of poor conditions there begin to surface. According to the Miami Herald, newly arrived detainees have reported poor conditions: limited or no access to showers and toothbrushes, swarms of massive mosquitoes, broken toilets, and extreme temperature swings — from freezing cold to unbearably hot. While families and attorneys are unsure of how to reach their loved ones and clients, both journalists and lawmakers have been de- nied entry to the facility. “This is not only a humanitarian crisis for detainees, but also for those tasked to staff this facility,” state Rep. Anna Eskamani told the Herald after hear- ing complaints about conditions at the facility. Es- kamani is also concerned about the impact of dis- ease-carrying mosquitoes on detainees and state workers. Meanwhile, @skitheteamroski appears to have since launched a GoFundMe titled “Stand with Me Against Alligator Alcatraz” to raise money to hire a lawyer and take legal action against the facility. At the time of this reporting, the fund- raiser has raised $199 of its $2,600 goal. “Hello, I worked at Alligator Alcatraz and was fired for sharing a video of footage of the inside,” the fundraiser reads. “Many people want me to share my side of the story of what’s actually going on inside, but I can’t fully explain and show what I know without having a lawyer just in case this situation gets pushed to the next level.” “I’m only asking for my supporters to help me afford a lawyer,” he continues, “and the next step is to try and get ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ shut down.” [email protected] A Florida man says he was fired after posting TikTok videos from inside Alligator Alcatraz. Now, he’s raising money to take down the facility. Screenshots via @skitheteamroski/TikTok | METRO | Alligator Infestation FIU board chair’s company Is an Alligator Alcatraz contractor. BY NAOMI FEINSTEIN T he chair of Florida International Universi- ty’s (FIU) Board of Trustees runs one of the state contractors that helped build Alligator Alcatraz deep in the Everglades. Carlos Duart is the president of CDR Compa- nies, formerly known as CDR Maguire, a consult- ing firm whose affiliate companies include emergency management, disaster recovery, en- gineering, and health and medical services. Over the years, the firm has received numerous state contracts. Duart is one of several Gov. Ron De- Santis allies whose companies helped the state quickly build and open the controversial deten- tion facility that will house up to 3,000 detainees in the coming days. “With offices across the nation, the firm has expanded to provide engineering consulting ser- vices, emergency management solutions, and disaster health and medical services, overseeing over $2 billion in construction, over $10 billion in disaster recovery, and $500 million in COVID-19 related medical services,” the company’s web- site reads. In October 2021, DeSantis appointed Duart to the FIU Board of Trustees, reappointing him to the board on December 19, 2024. On the same day in late 2024, DeSantis appointed Duart’s wife, Tina Vidal-Duart, to the board of trustees at Florida Atlantic University (FAU). As first re- ported by the Tampa Bay Times, the couple and their companies have donated $1.9 million to the Republican Party of Florida and two political ac- tion committees supporting DeSantis. Vidal-Duart is the CEO of CDR Health, a healthcare consulting company headquartered in Miami. The company offers emergency and di- saster health solutions, refugee health programs, mobile health solutions, and vaccination and testing services. “CDR Health has the resources to provide ‘boots on the ground’ emergency disaster health and medical services immediately following a state or national health disaster,” its website states. She is also the chair of the Florida Grand Op- era Board of Directors and the vice chair of the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust. Vidal-Duart also serves on the board of the Hope Florida Foundation, Casey DeSantis’ charity, embroiled in controversy after it received a $10 million do- nation from a Medicaid settlement “funneled through the Casey DeSantis-affiliated Hope Flor- ida Foundation to attack a referendum staunchly opposed by her husband, Gov. Ron DeSantis, to legalize cannabis,” according to WUSF. According to the Miami Herald, the funds “consisted of Medicaid dollars owed to state and federal taxpayers, contrary to what the governor and other officials have publicly asserted.” Duart confirmed to the Associated Press that his firm is involved in Alligator Alcatraz but did not disclose what services they are providing, pointing to a nondisclosure agreement. Some state contractors working at the 39-square-mile site have covered logos and US- DOT numbers on their trucks, in violation of state and federal regulations. Despite these at- tempts to evade public scrutiny and criticism, these companies, like Fort Lauderdale’s Classic Recycling, have received numerous complaints on Yelp as a result. [email protected] “THIS IS NOT ONLY A HUMANITARIAN CRISIS FOR DETAINEES, BUT ALSO FOR THOSE TASKED TO STAFF THIS FACILITY.”
