EFE – The Mexican Consulate in Orlando demanded a “thorough investigation” from Florida on Thursday into the death of a Mexican man following an operation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on July 14 in St. Augustine.
The Mexican diplomatic mission requested that the Florida Highway Patrol clarify the circumstances of the incident and “determine the corresponding responsibilities,” according to a statement.
“Likewise, diplomatic efforts are ongoing with U.S. authorities to follow up on the case and express the Mexican government’s concern regarding circumstances related to detention and arrest procedures that, in several cases, have resulted in regrettable consequences,” the statement said.
Although the Mexican Consulate did not identify the deceased, the government of Guanajuato has confirmed that he was Juan Jairo Coronilla Durán, originally from the municipality of San Luis de la Paz in that state.
Both the Guanajuato state government and Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs promised to support the family of the Mexican man, whose wife, Jessica Alamilla, arrived in Florida last Friday to request assistance in repatriating his body.
“He had a tourist visa, he had only been here a short time, three weeks, two days,” the woman told local press upon her arrival in Orlando.
But neither Mexican nor U.S. authorities have clarified the immigration status of Coronilla Durán, 28, a father of two.
The man died on July 14 after being struck by a truck while fleeing on foot from ICE agents during an operation by the Department of Homeland Security, which has stated that the Florida Highway Patrol and Homeland Security Investigations are investigating the incident.
The case is causing controversy because it comes amid growing scrutiny of ICE tactics, as two men were shot and killed by agents this month while driving: Mexican national Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a father of three, on July 7 in Texas, and Colombian national Joan Sebastián Guerrero on July 13 in Maine.
This has intensified Mexico’s demands, with Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco last week requesting that the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, gather information on the deaths of 17 Mexicans in the United States at the hands of ICE officials.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue to closely monitor this case and reaffirms its commitment to using all available consular, legal, and diplomatic resources to protect the rights of Mexican citizens abroad,” the Consulate in Orlando concluded.
