Overview
- Geraldo Lunas Campos, a 55-year-old Cuban national, died on Jan. 3 at Camp East Montana after ICE said he became disruptive in a medication line and was later found in distress.
- A medical examiner’s staffer told Campos’ daughter that the preliminary cause is asphyxia due to neck and chest compression, with a homicide manner of death likely once toxicology is complete.
- DHS asserts Campos attempted to take his own life, violently resisted staff during an intervention, and then stopped breathing; ICE has highlighted his prior convictions and detention history.
- A detainee eyewitness told The Washington Post he saw at least five guards choking Campos and heard him say in Spanish, “I can’t breathe,” before he fell silent.
- Family members report contact from the FBI about the case as advocates and some members of Congress press for independent scrutiny of the Fort Bliss facility, which has prior deaths and cited violations.