Mexico demands accountability for 17 immigrants' deaths in US custody

Mexico has escalated tensions with the United States by demanding accountability for the deaths of 17 Mexican immigrants who died in US custody or during immigration enforcement operations. The Mexican government, led by President Claudia Sheinbaum, has condemned the deaths, stating that the entire nation shares the families' pain.

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The entire country shares the pain of their families.

Mexico has begun filing complaints with US state and federal prosecutors to request criminal investigations. Additionally, cease-and-desist letters have been sent to private companies managing US detention centers where Mexican immigrants have died. According to Mexican and US authorities, 14 of the men died in immigration enforcement custody, either in detention centers or medical facilities. The remaining three died during enforcement operations.

One of the most recent cases involved Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old construction worker fatally shot by an ICE officer in Houston. The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has denied any increase in deaths within its facilities or operations. A DHS spokesperson assured that detained individuals receive full due process, proper meals, water, medical treatment, and communication opportunities with family and lawyers, while also denying any abuses by its officials.

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receive full due process and are provided with proper meals, water, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers.

The article details some of the 17 cases, including Abelardo Avellaneda Delgado, 68, who died of a medical complication while being transferred to a Georgia detention center, and Jesús Molina Veya, 45, found deceased in his cell at the Stewart Detention Center in Georgia. Both had histories of undocumented immigration and previous charges in the US.

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It also denied that its officials committed abuses.