Family of Cuban Who Died of “Likely Homicide” at Texas ICE Jail Sues for Wrongful Death

The family of Geraldo Lunas Campos, a 55-year-old Cuban immigrant whose death in ICE custody was ruled a likely homicide, is suing four guards and the companies that oversaw Camp East Montana — a sprawling immigration detention tent camp at the Fort Bliss military base in El Paso, Texas — at the time of Campos’s death. The Washington Post reports his family is seeking more than $1 million in damages from Acquisition Logistics, the company that oversaw Camp East Montana when Campos was killed; Akima, which employed the guards accused of killing Campos; and NANA Regional Corp., Akima’s parent company. Earlier this year, an autopsy report released by the El Paso County Medical Examiner’s Office concluded Campos had died from asphyxia caused by neck and torso compression, ruling his death a homicide. Before his death, Campos had complained of not getting the right dosage of medication to treat his bipolar disorder and anxiety. He had also expressed having suicidal thoughts. But instead of receiving proper care, Campos was placed in solitary confinement, where guards shackled and handcuffed him, repeatedly “putting pressure on his neck and chest until his body went limp.” www.democracynow.org