Victor Manuel Diaz, 36, a Nicaraguan immigrant detained during a Jan. 6 federal immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota, was found dead Jan. 14 at a tent detention facility on the grounds of Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, Immigration and Customs Enforcement said. ICE said Diaz appeared to have killed himself. His death came at the same facility where a fellow detainee died earlier this month in circumstances the El Paso County Medical Examiner has since classified as a likely homicide.

The two deaths at Camp Montana East, the ICE detention complex on the Army base, came within weeks of each other. A preliminary medical examiner’s finding that the first detainee likely died from physical restraint directly conflicts with ICE’s account that staff had been attempting to prevent him from harming himself.

Diaz’s detention history

Diaz entered the United States in March 2024, and Border Patrol officers took him into custody, ICE said. He was released on parole pending a court date. A judge ordered him to leave the country at an August hearing that Diaz did not attend, ICE said.

ICE detained Diaz again on Jan. 6 in Minnesota and transferred him to Texas. On Jan. 12, he was given a final order of removal. Two days later he was found unconscious in his room, ICE said.

ICE did not release additional details on how Diaz died. The agency said it notifies Congress and posts a statement on its website for all in-custody deaths.

Prior death under scrutiny

Geraldo Lunas Campos, 55, also died at Camp Montana East earlier in January as staff members tried to prevent him from killing himself, ICE said.

A preliminary investigation by the El Paso County Medical Examiner’s Office found Lunas Campos died from asphyxia from chest and neck compression, and said the death would likely be classified a homicide.

A fellow detainee told the Associated Press that Lunas Campos was handcuffed and refused to go back into his cell when at least five guards pinned him to the floor. The detainee said at least one of the guards had an arm around Lunas Campos’ neck.

ICE said it was still investigating that death.

If you or someone you know needs help, the national Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available by calling or texting 988.