EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The Washington Post reported Thursday that the El Paso County’s Office of the Medical Examiner “will likely” classify the recent death of a Camp East Montana detainee as a homicide.
Geraldo Lunas Campos, a 55-year-old Cuban national, died on Jan. 3 after experiencing a “medical distress,” according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
According to the ICE report, Lunas Campos was “disruptive” while in line for medication and refused to return to his assigned dorm, where he was then subsequently placed in segregation. During the struggle, staff saw Lunas Campos in distress and contacted medical personnel.
The report also stated that Lunas Campos was later pronounced dead by EMS.
According to the Washington Post, an employee of the Medical Examiner told Lunas Campos’ daughter that the office will likely classify his death as a homicide in a recording of the conversation.
Additionally, the employee said a doctor at the facility “is listing the preliminary cause of death as asphyxia due to neck and chest compressions,” according to the Washington Post. “Our doctor is believing that we’re going to be listing the manner of death as homicide.”
In an interview with the Post, a man who was detained in the same unit as Lunas Campos said he saw at least five guards struggling with him after he refused to enter the segregation unit. The man said he heard Lunas Campos repeatedly saying, “No puedo respirar (I can’t breathe).”
The Post confirmed the man was in Camp East Montana through ICE’s detainee locator.
According to ICE, Lunas Campos was arrested by Homeland Security Investigations and Border Patrol agents on July 14, 2025, in Rochester, New York. He had been convicted of several charges.
This is the second death reported at Camp East Montana in El Paso. Francisco Gaspar-Andres, 48, died in the facility under “suspected natural causes,” which included natural liver and kidney failure, according to a report by ICE.
KTSM reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and provided the following statement:
“On January 3rd, Geraldo Lunas Campos, a criminal illegal alien and convicted child sex predator, attempted to take his own life while he was detained at the Camp East Montana detention facility. The security staff immediately intervened to save his life.
“Campos violently resisted the security staff and continued to attempt to take his life. During the ensuing struggle, Campos stopped breathing and lost consciousness. Medical staff was immediately called and responded. After repeated attempts to resuscitate him, EMTs declared him deceased on the scene.
“ICE takes seriously the health and safety of all those detained in our custody. This is still an active investigation, and more details are forthcoming. ICE investigates the circumstances of all deaths in custody.
“Lunas was arrested by immigration authorities on July 14, 2025, during a planned enforcement operation in Rochester, New York. He entered the U.S. in 1996 and has been charged with and convicted of multiple crimes, including felonies, since then. His convictions include:
- Criminal possession of a weapon on June 8, 1998.
- Petit larceny on May 5, 1999.
- Unlawful possession of a weapon during a robbery on March 22, 2002.
- Sexual contact with a child under 11 on Jan. 17, 2003.
- Petit larceny on Oct. 14, 2005.
- Petit larceny on May 25, 2006.
- Reckless driving on June 8, 2006.
- Possession of a controlled substance on Feb. 26, 2007.
- Driving while intoxicated on Oct. 26, 2007.
- Sale of a controlled substance on Feb. 17, 2009.
An immigration judge ordered Lunas removed from the U.S. March 1, 2005. However, he was not removed because the government could not obtain travel documents. ICE transferred him to Camp East Montana Sept. 6, 2025.”
Marisa Limón Garza, executive director of Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, sent the following statement to KTSM, calling the incident horrifying.
“The fact that a medical examiner believes a man died by homicide while in ICE custody is not shocking. It is horrifying, and it is exactly what happens when the government locks people away in secretive facilities with no real oversight or accountability. Geraldo Lunas Campos had lived in the U.S. since 1996. He deserved to be home with his family.
“What is happening at Camp East Montana should enrage every single one of us. This facility is operating like a black site. People are disappearing into a system where they are denied medical care, cut off from their lawyers and families, and treated as if their lives do not matter. We are here to say that their lives matter.
“We have spoken with individuals who were left without food or medical attention for days. We have heard from people who did not know where they were, why they were there, or where they would be sent next. This is more than abuse. The government has failed time and time again to protect immigrant lives, and the consequences are now deadly.”
KTSM and Border Report have reached out to ICE for more information. KTSM has requested the autopsy report for Lunas Campos. We will update you once we learn more.