Top immigration officials in Mexico are trying to cover up the negligent death of a Cuban migrant who died after agents refused to provide medical care until it was too late.
The incident reportedly took place this week in the Siglo XXI detention center in the Mexican state of Chiapas, where Luis Enrique Mendez Romero arrived requesting to be sent back to Cuba. In the aftermath of the migrant’s death, Mexico’s National Migration Institute sent out a prepared statement trying to distance themselves from any blame by claiming that they had provided timely medical care and the migrant had died en route to a hospital.
#Comunicado Fallece en Tapachula, #Chiapas, migrante cubano que solicitó retorno a su país. No mostraba síntomas de enfermedad al llegar a la Estación Migratoria; las autoridades periciales determinarán la causa del deceso. https://t.co/0D5d5LGYf8 pic.twitter.com/L98qT69MLG
— INM (@INAMI_mx) November 16, 2023
However, a director-level member of Mexico’s INM who spoke to Breitbart Texas claimed the information on that statement was false and the institute was trying to cover up the negligent death. According to the official, Mendez had not been added to the intake list of migrants and there were no assisted return trips on the day that he died.
The INM official claimed that Sheila Diaz, the agent in charge of the Siglo XXI station did not leave anyone in charge when she left her post. It was during that time that Mendez became ill. His calls for help were ignored. Agents ignored Mendez even after he lost consciousness, the source stated. By the time agents checked on him, he did not have a pulse and that is when they rushed him to a private clinic 200 meters away from the hospital where medical personnel listed him as dead on arrival.
The INM official who spoke with Breitbart Texas stated that videos from Siglo XXI which link directly to the INM surveillance center on 1832 Homero Street in Mexico City would show that INM agents were negligent in Mendez’s death, however, the institute was trying to cover up the case.
Siglo XXI is the same detention center previously exposed by Breitbart Texas, where a series of leaked photographs revealed the moment that federal agents beat a group of migrants and dragged them into solitary confinement cells.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.
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