EL PASO, Texas — As the investigation continues into the death of Geraldo Lunas Campos, an ICE detainee who died in a Texas detention facility, the medical examiner is not convinced the death was accidental or the result of a suicide attempt. According to an article by The Washington Post, a recorded call between the El Paso County medical examiner’s office and the daughter of Lunas Campos suggests the medical examiner is most likely to rule Campos’ death a homicide.
Geraldo Lunas Campos was a 55-year-old Cuban immigrant who reportedly died following a struggle with detention officers in an ICE facility. The Post reviewed an internal ICE document that reported an eyewitness account.
The Washington Post reported that in the recorded phone call, an employee informed the victim’s daughter that “a doctor there ‘is listing the preliminary cause of death as asphyxia due to neck and chest compression,’ which means Lunas Campos did not get enough oxygen because of pressure on his neck and chest.” This evidence suggests the victim may have been strangled, resulting in death due to suffocation. The Post reported that the medical examiner expects to rule the death a homicide, pending a toxicology report to confirm.
The Post reviewed an internal ICE document that concluded Lunas Campos died after a struggle with detention officers in an ICE facility. However, despite an eyewitness reporting the same events, Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin of the Department of Homeland Security stated that Lunas Campos took his own life.
In McLaughlin’s recounting of the events, according to The Post, she stated that Lunas Campos “‘violently resisted security staff’” in his attempt to commit suicide. “‘During the ensuing struggle, Campos stopped breathing and lost consciousness. Medical staff was immediately called and responded. After repeated attempts to resuscitate him, EMTs declared him deceased on the scene,’” she explained. She refused to provide additional documentation because the death is an active investigation.
According to court records reported by The Post, Lunas Campos had a substantial criminal record. His charges included aggravated assault with a weapon and sexual abuse of a minor. His arrest was part of a planned operation due to a criminal record spanning more than 15 years. He had been placed in a segregated housing unit in Camp East Montana “after becoming ‘disruptive’ while waiting in line for medication.”
ICE’s statement following his death did not include any information about the cause of death, as reported by The Post. “The last event logged, six days after his death, references an ‘immediate’ use-of-force incident but provides no date of that incident or any details,” the article states.
Despite the court record, The Post reported information from a fellow detainee and eyewitness, Santos Jesus Flores, who was housed in the same unit as the victim. “Flores said he saw guards choking Lunas Campos and heard Lunas Campos repeatedly saying, ‘No puedo respirar’ — Spanish for ‘I can’t breathe.’ Medical staff tried to resuscitate him for an hour, after which they took his body away,” Flores said.
A ruling that Lunas Campos’ death was a homicide would draw significant attention to the detention facility, according to The Post. Camp East Montana, located near the U.S.-Mexico border, has had several reports from migrants subjected to “substandard conditions and physical abuse, and ICE’s own inspectors have cited dozens of violations of federal detention standards.” The Post also reported an overall increase in deaths in ICE detention facilities following the Trump administration’s initiative to increase detentions.
Lunas Campos’ death also follows the death of a U.S. citizen in Minneapolis who was shot by an ICE officer during a raid. This heightened scrutiny and “nationwide upheaval,” according to The Post, has raised questions about the standard of accountability applied to ICE officers under the Trump administration.
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