Family Demands Answers After Mysterious Death of Costa Rican Man Deported from US Detention in Vegetative State.
The family of Randall Gamboa Esquivel, a 52-year-old Costa Rican man who died shortly after being deported to his home country from the US, is struggling to come to terms with what happened to him while in detention. The exact circumstances surrounding his death are still unclear, but an investigation by The Guardian has revealed that Gamboa was initially held at a detention center in south Texas and later transferred to another facility before being flown to Costa Rica on an air ambulance.
According to medical records obtained by the outlet, Gamboa was diagnosed with a range of serious health conditions, including sepsis, rhabdomyolysis, and toxic encephalopathy. He also received nearly two dozen medications and underwent IV injections, suggesting that his condition had deteriorated significantly while in detention.
The family is demanding answers about what happened to Gamboa while he was in custody. His younger sister, Greidy Mata, described how he seemed healthy when they last spoke via video calls before being deported, but then "disappeared" without explanation. The family is still waiting for a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.
Costa Rica's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has declined to comment on the case, and ICE Health Service Corps officials have issued a statement suggesting that Gamboa received proper medical care while in custody. However, the family is skeptical of this claim, citing the lack of information provided by the authorities about their brother's treatment while in detention.
As the family prepares to celebrate Christmas without their loved one, they are still grappling with questions about what happened to Gamboa and how he ended up in such a precarious state. "It was nice seeing and touching him again because it gave us hope that he could recover," Mata said, but added that the doctors never made any promises of recovery.
The case has sparked outrage among immigration advocates, who are calling for greater transparency and accountability from the authorities when it comes to the treatment of detained migrants. "This is a horrific story, or at least it feels like one," Mata said, her voice trembling with emotion. "I just want to know what happened to my brother."
The family of Randall Gamboa Esquivel, a 52-year-old Costa Rican man who died shortly after being deported to his home country from the US, is struggling to come to terms with what happened to him while in detention. The exact circumstances surrounding his death are still unclear, but an investigation by The Guardian has revealed that Gamboa was initially held at a detention center in south Texas and later transferred to another facility before being flown to Costa Rica on an air ambulance.
According to medical records obtained by the outlet, Gamboa was diagnosed with a range of serious health conditions, including sepsis, rhabdomyolysis, and toxic encephalopathy. He also received nearly two dozen medications and underwent IV injections, suggesting that his condition had deteriorated significantly while in detention.
The family is demanding answers about what happened to Gamboa while he was in custody. His younger sister, Greidy Mata, described how he seemed healthy when they last spoke via video calls before being deported, but then "disappeared" without explanation. The family is still waiting for a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.
Costa Rica's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has declined to comment on the case, and ICE Health Service Corps officials have issued a statement suggesting that Gamboa received proper medical care while in custody. However, the family is skeptical of this claim, citing the lack of information provided by the authorities about their brother's treatment while in detention.
As the family prepares to celebrate Christmas without their loved one, they are still grappling with questions about what happened to Gamboa and how he ended up in such a precarious state. "It was nice seeing and touching him again because it gave us hope that he could recover," Mata said, but added that the doctors never made any promises of recovery.
The case has sparked outrage among immigration advocates, who are calling for greater transparency and accountability from the authorities when it comes to the treatment of detained migrants. "This is a horrific story, or at least it feels like one," Mata said, her voice trembling with emotion. "I just want to know what happened to my brother."
... i dont think its right that the family cant get any info about whats going on with their loved one's death. i mean, come on, a guy is deported and then drops dead 5 minutes later? something fishy is goin on here... and yeah, the fact that he had so many meds and was in a vegetative state is super concerning... and what about all the video calls they had before he was deported? did nobody notice anything suspicious back then? its not like they just "disappeared" into thin air 
... i feel for the family, they deserve answers.
how could they just deport him in such a state without even considering his health? 
his family is still trying to make sense of it all, but it's hard when you don't have any answers 
ICE needs to come clean about what really happened to Randall while he was in custody 
some people are saying that this is just another example of how our immigration system can fail people 
his medical records show that he had multiple serious conditions and was on so many medications it's crazy 
. Family is left with so many unanswered questions... How did he go from healthy to sick? Was he given proper meds or was it some kind of mix-up? 
the US government needs to be held accountable for what happened to him, especially since his sister said he seemed fine before being deported but then just... disappeared 
they need to do a full investigation and get to the bottom of this 
I'm so sorry for Randall's family that they'll have to spend Christmas without him 
. iam so sad 4 greidy mata she sounds like shes goin thru hell rn 
and now hes gone. this is horrific!!1! i hop the fam gets answers soon.
... and no one's saying anything about it... ICE's statement doesn't add up at all... how can you just say he got proper medical care when there are all these meds and conditions listed in the records? it's like they're trying to cover something up... this is why we need more transparency and accountability from the authorities... we need to know what happened to Randall Gamboa Esquivel 
i was watching this documentary about wildlife photography and they showed this amazing footage of a wolf pack in montana... anyway back to gamboa, i dont think ice is gonna give out much info cuz they usually keep stuff under wraps when it comes to detentions... have you seen that new netflix series about asylum seekers? 
. The family's demand for answers makes sense, they deserve to know what happened to their brother 
my heart goes out to his family 
this is so messed up 
it's not like he was even given a chance to recover before they flew him back to costa rica 
and now his family is just stuck waiting for answers 
meanwhile, immigration advocates are right on point about needing more transparency from these authorities 
we need to know what went down so that no one else has to suffer like randall did 
. His family is right to be outraged, like, what kind of system allows this to happen? I don't get why ICE Health Service Corps is being so secretive about it too... seems fishy 
. The fact that he was just "transferred" from one place to another without explanation is crazy 
. I'm glad someone's speaking out for the family, but this whole thing needs to be looked into properly.
this is just wrong 
.
. The US government needs to step up their game and make sure these kinds of cases don't happen again 
. It's not just about Randall Gamboa Esquivel, but about all the other migrants who might be going through similar situations without anyone to speak for them