You can't hide': The skull patches worn by guards at Alligator Alcatraz

"One design depicts a grim reaper wielding a scythe over a crocodile skeleton alongside the text: Alligator Alcatraz and You can't hide, surrounded by small skulls and against a background resembling prison bars."

"A man who was detained at the center for months said that most of the guards wear some kind of patch, sometimes several at once. The designs, which he estimates number around 15 different ones, all share a sinister theme, featuring grim reapers and skulls."

"According to the man, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals, the guards use them to show off in front of the detainees and intimidate them: They tell you they're your executioners, that you won't get out of there alive, and that you'll never see the light of day again."

Alligator Alcatraz, a migrant detention center in the Everglades west of Miami, has become the subject of controversy due to guards wearing patches featuring skulls, grim reapers, and ominous messages. These patches, which include designs showing a grim reaper over a crocodile skeleton with text stating "You can't hide," are used by security personnel to intimidate detainees. A former detainee reported approximately 15 different patch designs, all with sinister themes, worn by most guards sometimes in multiples. The patches convey threatening messages to detainees, suggesting they are executioners and that detainees will not escape alive. This practice adds to the center's documented human rights violations, dehumanizing conditions, and treatment reported by Amnesty International and other agencies.

Read at english.elpais.com