Jhon Javier Benavides-Quintana
Jhon Benavides Quintana left Ecuador to build a safer life for his two children, and his sister Maria said he left to provide for them as well as for his mother and father. He was held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Otero County Processing Center in Chaparral, New Mexico, a facility run by a private prison company, and relatives say he read the Bible to others held with him. He collapsed while working in the facility kitchen on June 15, 2024, and was pronounced dead. New Mexico officials determined that he died of a pulmonary thromboembolism, a blood clot in the lung, but his family and activists say his medical care was inadequate and want an independent investigation. The ACLU, which had recently filed a civil rights complaint over solitary confinement at the facility, has also called for an investigation into his death.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness (disputed; neglect alleged). New Mexico officials attributed his death to a blood clot in the lung, while his family and activists say his medical care was inadequate and want an independent investigation.
Reported by: New Mexico officials; his family; activists.