Carlos Gregorio Hernandez Vasquez
Carlos Hernandez Vasquez was a 16-year-old from Guatemala who crossed the border alone into Texas's Rio Grande Valley in May 2019 and was held in Border Patrol facilities. Records describe him reporting that he felt sick, a nurse diagnosing the flu, and Tamiflu being prescribed. A Border Patrol spokesman said he was found unresponsive in a temporary holding facility on the morning of May 20, 2019. An autopsy by a contract forensic pathologist for Hidalgo County, obtained by Texas Monthly, concluded that he died of the flu complicated by pneumonia and sepsis on or near the toilet of his cell at the Weslaco station, and that he was never taken to a hospital. The exact time of his collapse is unclear because the time stamp on the video is incorrect, and the FBI, local police and the Homeland Security inspector general are investigating his death.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness (disputed; neglect alleged). The autopsy by Dr. Norma Jean Farley attributes his death to flu complicated by pneumonia and sepsis, but the family's lawyers and advocates say the Border Patrol failed to get him hospital care after he reported feeling sick, and the timing of his collapse is unclear because the video time stamp is wrong.
Reported by: Dr. Norma Jean Farley, contract forensic pathologist for Hidalgo County (medical examiner or coroner); Border Patrol spokesman (the agency that held him).