Family of Cuban Detainee at Fort Bliss Challenges ICE Suicide Account, Seeks to Block Deportation of Witnesses
Geraldo Lunas Campos, a Cuban detainee who died Jan. 3 at ICE’s Camp East Montana facility on Fort Bliss, has been described by ICE and a DHS official as having committed suicide after "resisting interventions," though ICE initially said he had "experienced medical distress." His children have filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas seeking to block the deportation of two detainees they say witnessed guards choking or struggling with Lunas Campos before his death, to preserve their testimony for a planned wrongful‑death suit. The family also says an El Paso medical examiner’s office employee told them the manner of death would be listed as homicide based on an audio recording they shared, a recording The New York Times could not independently verify, underscoring a major discrepancy with ICE’s account.
📌 Key Facts
- Geraldo Lunas Campos, a Cuban detainee, died on Jan. 3 at ICE’s Camp East Montana facility on Fort Bliss; this death is separate from a previously reported Nicaraguan death.
- The family alleges in court filings that Lunas Campos was killed while in ICE custody and says they will pursue a wrongful-death suit.
- Lunas Campos’s children filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas seeking to block the deportation of two detainees who they say witnessed guards choking or struggling with him, to preserve their testimony for the planned wrongful‑death suit.
- ICE initially reported on Jan. 9 that Lunas Campos died after “experiencing medical distress.”
- A Department of Homeland Security official later characterized the death as a suicide, saying Lunas Campos was “resisting interventions,” creating a major discrepancy with the family’s account.
- The family says an El Paso medical examiner’s office employee told them the manner of death would be listed as homicide based on an audio recording they shared; The New York Times could not independently verify the recording’s authenticity.
📰 Source Timeline (2)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- Identifies Cuban detainee Geraldo Lunas Campos as having died Jan. 3 at ICE’s Camp East Montana facility on Fort Bliss, separate from the previously reported Nicaraguan death.
- Reveals that Lunas Campos’s children have filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas to block deportation of two detainees they say witnessed guards choking or struggling with him before he died, in order to preserve their testimony for a planned wrongful‑death suit.
- Documents that ICE first said on Jan. 9 he died after 'experiencing medical distress,' while a DHS official, responding to media inquiries, later recharacterized the death as a suicide with Lunas Campos 'resisting interventions,' creating a major discrepancy with the family’s account.
- Reports the family’s claim that an El Paso medical examiner’s office employee told them the manner of death would be listed as homicide, based on an audio recording they shared, though The New York Times could not independently verify the recording’s authenticity.