Death of Randal Alberto Gamboa-Esquivel
Randal Alberto Gamboa-Esquivel
1 — medical (brain damage following ~10 months in ICE custody)Killed
Key sources
Randal Alberto Gamboa-Esquivel (52, Costa Rica) died on or around 2025-10-25 in Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica, weeks after being deported from the United States by air ambulance in a vegetative state, following roughly ten months in ICE custody. Costa Rican doctors reported brain damage and possible antipsychotic overmedication.
Official account
ICE deported him to Costa Rica in September 2025. Deaths after removal are not tracked in U.S. custody figures.
What is documented
- Person: Randal Alberto Gamboa-Esquivel, age 52; Costa Rica.
- Location: Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica.
- Agency: ICE (deported from custody).
- Cause: medical — brain damage; possible overmedication during custody.
- Circumstance: Held ~10 months in ICE custody, deported by air ambulance in a vegetative state, died weeks later.
Scrutiny of the official account
Grounded in the sourced record below; this documents the dispute rather than asserting a conclusion.
- Status / dispute: Costa Rican physicians attributed his condition to brain damage and possible overmedication in U.S. custody. Uncounted by ICE as a post-removal death.
Unanswered questions
- What care did he receive during ten months in ICE custody?
- Was he fit to be deported in a vegetative state?
- Will ICE release his full medical records from custody?
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See also
Needs review