A 36-year-old Nicaraguan immigrant died this week in the largest immigration detention center in the United States, bringing to three the number of people who have died in these facilities, located on a military base in south Texas.
The man, identified by authorities as Victor Manuel Díaz, died by suicide, as detailed by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) in a recent statement, where they indicated that an investigation has already been opened to determine the “official cause” of his death.
Díaz was detained by ICE on January 6 in Minneapolis (Minnesota), a state more than 2,000 kilometers north of Texas where Trump has deployed thousands of immigration agents in recent weeks, provoking demonstrations of rejection and confrontations with civil society.
The immigrant arrived in the United States in March 2024, across the border with Mexico, where he surrendered to authorities and was granted a permit to enter the country, a standard practice under previous administrations and permitted under the country’s immigration law, which has been ended under the Trump Administration.
Díaz’s death is the third so far this year in this center of Texas (“Camp East Montana”), made up of a series of tents erected on the Fort Bliss military base, on the outskirts of El Paso.
“Camp Montana,” as it is called by the Trump Administration, has been singled out by human rights organizations for a pattern of abuses against immigrants, including “beatings and sexual abuse by agents (…) coercive threats to force deportations to third countries, medical neglect, hunger and insufficient food, as well as the denial of effective access to legal defense,” as detailed by the ACLU group in a report.
Also this week, The Washington Post newspaper revealed that a medical examiner told the daughter of Geraldo Lunas, the second immigrant to die at Camp Montana this year, that her father’s death was due to asphyxiation and will probably be indicated in the final report as a homicide by the center’s staff.
Under the current Administration, immigration detentions in the United States have reached a record level: on average, more than 73,000 immigrants remained in custody, the highest number since the creation of the Department of Homeland Security in 2001, according to data leaked to CBS New.
Last year was the deadliest in at least two decades for people in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, with more than 30 deaths.
Mexico demands clarification of death
On the other hand, the Consulate General of Mexico in Atlanta (Georgia) demanded that the US authorities clarify the death a few days ago of an immigrant of Mexican origin in the custody of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE).
Through a statement, the Mexican Foreign Ministry regretted the death of a compatriot in an immigration processing center in the state of Georgia, while announcing that it is in “coordination” with the US authorities so that “the circumstances of the event are clarified.”
To this end, he requested a “prompt and transparent” investigation into this death and reported that the Mexican Government contacted the family of the compatriot to offer them support, guidance and consular assistance.
The deceased would be Heber Sánchez Domínguez, 34 years old, according to local US media. The Foreign Ministry announced that the repatriation of his body to Mexico will be carried out “as soon as possible and in accordance with the wishes of his relatives.”
“The Government expresses its most sincere condolences to the family of the compatriot and reiterates its commitment to providing consular protection assistance to our community,” the information note concludes.
At the moment, the US Government has not clarified the cause of death. This death occurs in a context of increasing deaths in immigration custody in the United States, amid the tightening of President Donald Trump’s anti-immigration policy.
According to official data, at least 30 people died in ICE detention centers in 2025, the highest number in two decades, and 4 have died in the first nine days of this year 2026.
