{"id":892,"date":"2026-07-09T22:09:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T22:09:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=892"},"modified":"2026-07-09T22:09:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T22:09:12","slug":"geraldo-lunas-campos-died-in-a-texas-ice-jail-now-his-family-is-suing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=892","title":{"rendered":"Geraldo Lunas Campos Died in a Texas ICE Jail. Now His Family Is Suing."},"content":{"rendered":"
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Read more 40 Epstein-Tied Billionaires Have Injected $1.6B Into US Elections, Report Finds<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The family of Geraldo Lunas Campos is suing over the 55-year-old Cuban immigrant\u2019s death at an ICE detention center in Texas earlier this year, with a local coroner ruling his death a homicide from asphyxia. The Department of Homeland Security said Lunas Campos had attempted suicide, but witnesses said he died after being restrained by multiple guards. The family\u2019s lawsuit names four guards and multiple private companies overseeing the jail.<\/p>\n

Perla Trevizo, a reporter with the ProPublica<\/em>\u2013Texas Tribune<\/em> investigative unit, says Lunas Campos had a history of mental health issues and that he had complained before his death about lack of access to his medication.<\/p>\n

\u201cWitnesses say that they believe he was shackled. There were several guards. They took him down,\u201d Trevizo says.<\/p>\n

TRANSCRIPT<\/h2>\n

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.<\/em><\/p>\n

AMY GOODMAN:<\/strong> This is Democracy Now!<\/em>, democracynow.org. I\u2019m Amy Goodman.<\/p>\n

As we continue on the issue of immigration enforcement, we\u2019re going to talk to the \u2014 about the family of Geraldo Lunas Campos. He was a 55-year-old Cuban immigrant whose death in ICE custody was ruled a likely homicide. The family is suing four guards and the companies that oversaw Camp East Montana \u2014 a sprawling immigration detention tent camp at the Fort Bliss military base in El Paso, Texas \u2014 at the time of Campos\u2019s death. The Washington Post<\/em> reports his family is seeking more than a million dollars 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 Corporation, Akima\u2019s parent company.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, an autopsy report released by El Paso County Medical Examiner\u2019s Office concluded Campos 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.<\/p>\n

For more, we go to Philadelphia, where we\u2019re joined by Perla Trevizo, reporter with the ProPublica<\/em>\u2013Texas Tribune<\/em> investigative unit, her recent piece headlined \u201c\u2019He Didn\u2019t Need to Die.\u2019 How an Immigration Detention Center Repeatedly Failed to Address a Mental Health Crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perla, thank you so much for joining us. Tell us what you know.<\/p>\n

PERLA TREVIZO:<\/strong> Yeah, so, we \u2014 thank you for having me, first of all.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve reviewed nearly 300 pages of an extended medical examiner report that has not been published, or had not been published before. And in it, you know, as you mentioned, we had heard that Geraldo had continued to ask for his medication. That\u2019s actually what led to the altercation, according to witnesses, the day he died. But for the first time, we can see in writing how \u2014 you know, we counted at least eight times, from the day he entered Camp East Montana in September to the day he died, he had requested medication that was helping him, you know, with his anxiety, with depression, that would help him sleep better, and yet he was not getting it, including in one of the medical notes, a medical provider notes that it\u2019s on November 10th, and he hadn\u2019t received his medication since November 6th.<\/p>\n

We also see that there was a previous suicide attempt in October. And we include more details in the story, but, basically, you know, he had been put in segregation. He had tied a bed sheet to his \u2014 you know, wrapped it around his neck, and they were able to talk him out of it. And one of the medical experts we talked to said that, you know, he \u2014 based on the notes, it seems that that case was minimized instead of taken as seriously as it should have.<\/p>\n

AMY GOODMAN:<\/strong> So, the coroner found homicide by asphyxiation. Explain how Geraldo Lunas Campos died.<\/p>\n

PERLA TREVIZO:<\/strong> Yeah, so, what we know \u2014 again, the FBI is actually investigating the case, so, you know, there\u2019s still a lot of details that are \u2014 you know, that should be coming out. But what we know from witness statements and what has been reported is that he was brought into the segregation unit. They say that he grew combative. You know, once they were about to go in, he refused. Witnesses say that they believe he was shackled. There were several guards. They took him down. And as you said, asphyxia, so it means, like, they put some pressure on his chest, and he stopped breathing. Then medical providers were called. Nurses arrived. Eventually, they call 911. 911 came, and they tried to do CPR and revive him. But at that point, it was too late.<\/p>\n

Read more Infant Formula Manufacturers Decide Whether to Inform FDA About Possible Harm<\/a><\/p>\n

AMY GOODMAN:<\/strong> If you can talk about the medical providers who work there, and now who the family is suing, the levels of responsibility here, and what they\u2019re suing for?<\/p>\n

PERLA TREVIZO:<\/strong> So, they\u2019re suing the guards, that you mention, and the companies. I think, you know, it\u2019s been very hard to get information from people who work at the facility. And you have the main contractor that you mentioned, Acquisition, who\u2019s no longer \u2014 who has been since replaced, and then contractors under them that, you know, take care of cleaning, food, medical. We\u2019ve tried to reach, you know, for months, to people who either work there or worked there. They\u2019ve been signing nondisclosure agreements. We weren\u2019t able to reach most of them. We were able to talk to one medical provider who used to work at the facility, as well to a current government official.<\/p>\n

And I think, you know, one of the biggest takeaways for us is that from the very beginning, you could see that there were concerns about mental health and suicides. Very early on, you start getting calls to 911 talking about people who try to commit suicide. And, you know, the workers, they\u2019re not \u2014 the medical providers are not part of the lawsuit, but, you know, our understanding is that they were complaining about, based on these calls, that sometimes they didn\u2019t have oxygen, they didn\u2019t have EKG paper, that they were having minimum resources. So, we know from the beginning that the facility was not fully equipped to deal with the issues that it was facing.<\/p>\n

AMY GOODMAN:<\/strong> Talk about the companies that are being sued, all the different levels of this sprawling detention camp.<\/p>\n

PERLA TREVIZO:<\/strong> So, Acquisition \u2014 I mean, most of the companies have not had prior experience dealing with detention centers. So, this was a Department of Defense, or War, contract. Acquisition was the one that was hired. It was a small company out of Virginia, I think, I believe, veteran-owned, had gotten the main contract. Akima is a company that mostly is known for guard services, so they were providing the guard services for Camp East Montana, as well as other detention centers. Loyal Source is not part of the lawsuit, but Loyal Source is a company that was providing the medical care.<\/p>\n

And so, yes, I think you \u2014 the issue with private detentions, that you have multiple players that each play a role in, and in this case, the family has decided to sue some of them, including the main contractor and, as you mentioned, the guards that we know were directly involved with the moment he died.<\/p>\n

AMY GOODMAN:<\/strong> Perla, we\u2019re going to link to your piece. Perla Trevizo is a reporter with the ProPublica<\/em>\u2013Texas Tribune<\/em> investigative unit, her recent piece headlined \u201c\u2019He Didn\u2019t Need to Die.\u2019 How an Immigration Detention Center Repeatedly Failed to Address a Mental Health Crisis,\u201d joining us from Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

This is Democracy Now!<\/em>, democracynow.org. Could the Albanian government fall over massive protests that are taking place there, called the Flamingo Revolution, over a deal the Albanian government made with Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump for a luxury resort on an Albanian island? Stay with us.<\/p>\n

[break]<\/p>\n

AMY GOODMAN:<\/strong> That was Joan Baez singing \u201cJoe Hill\u201d in 2005 at Camp Casey in Crawford, Texas.<\/p>\n

Read more Democrats Threaten Lawsuit If Trump Tries to \u201cRestart\u201d Iran War<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DHS said Lunas Campos had attempted suicide, but witnesses said he died after being restrained by multiple guards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":891,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nGeraldo Lunas Campos Died in a Texas ICE Jail. Now His Family Is Suing. - Smart Moving Home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=892\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Geraldo Lunas Campos Died in a Texas ICE Jail. 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