Have you ever smelled a cadaver?’ Family recounts horror after Costa Rican man deported in vegetative state Much of what happened to #Randall #Gamboa #Esquivel, 52, over his last weeks in federal custody in Texas remains a mystery to his family In December of 2024, Gamboa crossed the US-Mexico border but was swiftly detained by US immigration authorities for re-entering American soil unlawfully, which is considered a felony. Gamboa was held at two different detention facilities in south Texas. Nearly 10 months later, in September 2025, the US government flew the 52-year-old back to Costa Rica on an air ambulance in a vegetative state and a few weeks later he died. Much of what happened to Gamboa over his last weeks in federal custody in Texas remains a mystery to his family, Mata said. When the US government flew him back to Costa Rica, he was non-responsive, as detailed in US medical records shared with the Guardian. “When I saw my brother at the airport, I thought he had been tortured in some type of way because he was ill-nourished, had skin ulcers and dried blood on his body and had a strong odor,” Mata said in Spanish, pausing to take deep breaths. “Have you ever smelled a cadaver? That’s how my brother smelled when he was deported,” she said. The Guardian approached the Department of Homeland Security about Mata’s comment about torture but did not receive a response. Mata said that Gamboa at first spoke frequently with various family members while in ICE custody. -- But communication stopped abruptly on 12 June. That would be the last conversation between Gamboa and his family, although they didn’t know it at the time. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/11/ice-deportation-costa-rica-man?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other