Arrested by ICE and deported in a vegetative state: A Costa Rican man's family seeks answers after his death

"When Greidy Mata said goodbye to her brother Randall before he emigrated from Costa Rica to the United States in search of work, she hugged a man who was big, tall, and full of remarkable vitality. Ten months later, when Randall was deported back to the Central American country, the person Greidy received at the airport was unrecognizable. It was a shocking sight, she recounts over the phone. He couldn't speak or move, the wounds on his body were neglected and open, he was filthy, smelled bad, and his mouth was full of dried blood."

"Randall Gamboa, 52, was deported by U.S. authorities and arrived in Costa Rica in a vegetative state, suffering from encephalopathy and rhabdomyolysis. He could no longer walk or eat on his own. Less than two months later, Gamboa died in a hospital in Perez Zeledon, his hometown in the south of the country. Greidy, her mother, and the rest of the family want answers and say they are willing to take Randall's case to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR)."

Greidy Mata hugged her brother Randall before he emigrated from Costa Rica to the United States seeking work. Ten months later Randall arrived back in Costa Rica in an unrecognizable, vegetative state with neglected open wounds and dried blood in his mouth. Randall, 52, had been arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after crossing from Tijuana and held at Webb County Detention Center and Port Isabel. He developed encephalopathy and rhabdomyolysis and was found bedridden in a Texas hospital in August. He was deported to Costa Rica, could not walk or eat independently, and died in Perez Zeledon less than two months later. The family intends to pursue answers and possible action at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

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