Autopsy Supports Claim That Migrant Who Died In Detention Camp Was Choked

The death of Geraldo Lunas Campos, a 55-year-old Cuban national who died earlier this month while in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, remains under investigation.

According to an autopsy report released by the El Paso County Medical Examiner's Office, the cause of death supports accounts from two witnesses who say the man was choked by agents during a struggle.

The autopsy found that Lunas Campos died from asphyxia caused by neck and torso compression, and his manner of death was ruled a homicide. He died Jan. 3 after what ICE initially described as a "medical distress" while in custody. Despite the agency characterizing the incident as a medical condition, two witnesses said guards choked Lunas Campos.

In a statement, ICE said Lunas Campos was considered "disruptive" while waiting for medication on Jan. 3 and refused to return to his assigned dorm. Staff at Camp East Montana, a large tent facility on the Fort Bliss military base, placed him in segregation and later observed him in distress before contacting medical personnel.

Contrary to ICE's account, the autopsy report states that Lunas Campos became unresponsive while being physically restrained by law enforcement. As noted by Border Report, the El Paso Police Department said that while the autopsy ruled the death a homicide, the determination is not a legal finding and does not imply criminal conduct.

According to a legal filing submitted by Lunas Campos' children, two fellow detainees at Camp East Montana said they witnessed the struggle. One of them, identified as Santos Jesus Flores, told attorneys he saw guards choke the 55-year-old Cuban national and heard him repeatedly say, "I cannot breathe," in Spanish.

Another detainee said he saw Lunas Campos struggle with guards shortly before he lost consciousness. Both witnesses have since received deportation notices, prompting the family to ask a federal court to block their removal so they can testify in a planned wrongful-death lawsuit.

The autopsy also documented scattered superficial abrasions across Lunas Campos' body, as well as hemorrhaging involving the strap muscles and connective tissues of the neck. Border Report noted that petechial hemorrhages were found on his eyelids and the skin of his neck.

On Jan. 22, Rep. Veronica Escobar issued a statement calling on authorities to provide Congress with a "thorough briefing" on the circumstances surrounding Lunas Campos' death.

"Witnesses claim staff killed the detainee; DHS must preserve all evidence — including halting their effort to deport the witnesses," Escobar said. "I reiterate my call for Camp East Montana to be shut down and for the contract with the corporation running it to be terminated."

For its part, ICE continues to deny any claims that Lunas Campos died after a struggle with prison staff.

Lunas Campos was one of three detainees who have died at Camp East Montana since it opened in August. Francisco Gaspar-Andres, a 48-year-old Venezuelan national, died of what ICE described as "suspected natural causes" in December 2025, while Victor Manuel Diaz, a 36-year-old Nicaraguan national, died Jan. 14 of a "presumed suicide," according to the agency. Human rights groups and local officials have criticized conditions at the facility, while DHS has said allegations of inhumane treatment are "categorically false."

"I need some kind of justice," said Jeanette Pagan Lopez, the mother of two of Lunas Campos' children. "I know I can't bring him back."

Originally published on Latin Times