2 charged in connection with alleged explosive device at MacDill Air Force Base: FBI

(NEW YORK) — Last week, Presner Nelson went to a shopping mall with one goal in mind: to find a suit his brother, who died in immigration federal custody in March, would wear in his casket.

Nelson’s brother, Emmanuel Damas, died after allegedly complaining for roughly two weeks of a toothache that Nelson believes could have been treated.

“This was the first time I had to do this in my life — it was not easy,” Nelson told ABC News.

The death of Damas, a Haitian immigrant who Nelson says arrived in the U.S. legally and had a pending Temporary Protected Status application, comes amid growing concerns from lawmakers and immigrant advocates about the conditions in migrant detention facilities, and a sharp increase in immigrant deaths in detention under the second Trump administration as it pursues its immigration crackdown.

Most deadly period
According to an ABC News analysis of Immigration and Customs Enforcement data and the number of detainee deaths provided to Congress from ICE, the first 14 months of the second Trump administration represent the most deadly period for the federal detention system in recent years — with the exception of 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic contributed to detention deaths.

As of March 25, 44 people have died in government custody during the current Trump administration, according to figures shared by lawmakers, with two of those fatalities being victims of a shooting last September at a Dallas detention facility. The rise in fatalities comes as the detention population reaches record highs, with over 70,000 people currently detained in federal immigration custody.

The data analysis reveals a stark and rapid acceleration in the mortality rate within federal facilities. While the figure was as low as one death per 100,000 admissions in 2022, that number surged to about seven deaths per 100,000 admissions in 2025, even when excluding the two people shot while in custody. And in just the first ten weeks of 2026, the rate is currently at 12 deaths per 100,000 admissions.

Using a methodology established by researchers and detention statistics provided by ICE, ABC News calculated estimated mortality rates per 100,000 detention admissions for the calendar years 2019-2025, plus Jan. 1 through March 16, 2026. Using a rate shows whether mortality is increasing beyond what would be expected from higher detention admissions alone.

“There is really no contest — fiscal year 2026 is on track to be the deadliest year ever in the history of ICE,” said Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, an immigration policy expert with the American Immigration Council who did his own data analysis of ICE deaths.

“Things are dramatically worse this year. We are seeing more deaths than ever,” Reichlin-Melnick said.

Scrutiny over the deaths of detainees has grown as the Trump administration has pressured ICE to increase arrests and has dramatically expanded detention space by converting warehouses and other spaces into detention facilities. A document shared by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency with New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte shows the government expects to spend $38 billion converting these spaces and increasing detention capacity by 92,600 beds.

Under previous administrations, the government has found ways to mitigate the number of people in detention by enrolling detainees in “Alternatives for Detention” efforts, which can involve scheduling regular check-ins with ICE, and mandating the use of ankle monitors.

The Trump administration has doubled down on invoking mandatory detention for undocumented immigrants, and in some cases even for those who are in the process of obtaining legal status. The government has also restarted detaining families with children at facilities like the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas.

“They’re making a decision to take a U.S. citizen child and detain them with their parents. They’re making a decision to detain someone who’s lived here peacefully for 20 years. That is their choice, and they need to be pushed further on that,” said Andrea Flores, an attorney and immigration policy expert who is a former DHS and White House official. “Nobody should lose their life because they went through our immigration system — but that, in and of itself, has been a problem across administrations. And so there’s been work that’s needed to be done on this.”

The case of Emmanuel Damas
In a statement, ICE described Damas as a “criminal illegal alien” arrested in Boston for assault and battery. His brother Nelson disputes this, saying Damas was in the country legally under a humanitarian parole program and had a pending petition for Temporary Protected Status. 

Nelson also said Damas was never convicted following his arrest and that the arrest stemmed from a misunderstanding when someone called police to report that Damas’ 12-year-old son appeared to be walking by himself on a sidewalk. Damas mistakenly believed his son had called the police on him, became angry, and gestured as if to hit him but never made physical contact, Nelson said.

Damas was taken to jail where he was transferred into ICE custody before Nelson could bail him out, Nelson said.

Nelson said when he last spoke on the phone with his brother on Feb. 16, Damas complained about a toothache he’d had for the last two weeks. According to Nelson, his brother had claimed he was denied multiple requests to see a dentist. 

Two days later Damas called their mother but he had difficulty speaking, Nelson said. Nelson believes his brother could not speak clearly because the toothache had developed into an abscess and his jaw had swollen. He did not complain of shortness of breath, Nelson said.

The next day, according to ICE, Damas was “immediately” taken to a hospital on Feb. 19 after allegedly reporting shortness of breath and was subsequently transferred to an Intensive Care Unit at a hospital in Phoenix for a “higher level of care.”

It’s unclear when he was placed on a ventilator, but ICE said that by Feb. 20, Damas “remained intubated” and underwent a series of tests.

On Feb. 22, the hospital in Phoenix “reported the likely diagnosis to be septic shock due to pneumonia,” ICE said.

Before he was transferred to Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center on Feb. 25, Damas “had two chest tubes placed on his right side and a thoracentesis was completed to help remove excess fluid from the pleural spaces around the lungs,” ICE said.

On Feb. 28, Nelson said his family was told they’d be allowed to visit him in the hospital and four of his relatives, including his mother, were able to see him the next day.

“But at that point on, it was too late, there was not much I could be done to save his life,” Nelson said. “So when my mom got there, he was in a coma.”

At 1:12 p.m. on March 2, Damas was pronounced deceased.

In a statement provided to ABC News about Damas and the number of recent detainee deaths, a DHS spokesperson said Damas “refused” dental extraction and had claimed in January that his toothache had gone away. The spokesperson said that in February, Damas was again seen “for bleeding gums and loose front teeth” and again refused to have two teeth extracted.

“It is a longstanding practice to provide comprehensive medical care from the moment an individual enters ICE custody. This includes medical, dental, and mental health services, access to medical appointments, and 24-hour emergency care,” the spokesperson said. “Many individuals receive healthcare in ICE custody that exceeds what they have previously experienced.”

Damas believes his brother would be alive if he had received adequate medical care for his toothache.

“They waited for too long to take him to the hospital to be seen by a dentist. So on the nineteenth, when they finally realized, it was too late because he had that infection going on for two weeks,” Nelson said. “He asked for help for two weeks — they said that he was faking it.”

‘Presumed suicides’
The recent surge in detainee deaths includes a number of “presumed suicides,” including 19-year-old Royer Perez-Jimenez, who died on March 16 in Florida, and Victor Manuel Diaz, who died in a Texas facility in January.

In a press release, DHS said that Diaz died in ICE custody on Jan. 14 at Camp East Montana in El Paso, after staff found him “unconscious and unresponsive in his room.” A DHS spokesperson confirmed this month that Perez-Jimenez was found “unconscious and unresponsive” by a Glades County detention officer.

While the department noted that “the official cause of death remains under investigation,” they labeled the incident a “presumed suicide.” However, Diaz’s family told ABC News they do not believe he took his own life and are calling for a full investigation.

“Suicide is a preventable cause of death for people in custody,” Reichlin-Melnick told ABC News. “It’s something that jails should be working to prevent, and yet we’ve now had three or four suicides just in 2026 alone, including the 19‑year‑old who died recently.”

Questions regarding the Department of Homeland Security’s statements about ICE deaths have been further fueled by the case of Geraldo Lunas Campos, a 55-year-old Cuban immigrant who died at the Camp East Montana facility in January.

While DHS initially stated Campos died after “experiencing medical distress,” an autopsy report from the El Paso County Medical Examiner later ruled the death a homicide, citing “asphyxia due to neck and torso compression.”

Attorneys for the Campos family filed an emergency petition in January to stop the deportation of witnesses who alleged guards choked and asphyxiated him.

For families like these, answers about their relatives’ death can be hard to come by.

“We don’t know what happened to him in that place,” a sibling of Diaz recently told ABC News in Spanish.

Nelson says he already knows why his brother is gone.

“Gross negligence,” he said.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores are set to return to a Manhattan courtroom on Thursday for a status conference that could determine the trajectory of the criminal case against them.

Maduro and Flores pleaded not guilty to federal charges including narco-terrorism during their first appearance in court in January, and their attorneys have since pushed to have the case dismissed over concerns that the Trump administration is blocking the Venezuelan government from paying their legal fees.

For more than a decade, Maduro enjoyed an opulent life as Venezuela’s president, living in the neoclassical palace in Caracas and accruing a net worth reportedly in the millions. He allegedly owned multiple mansions, two private jets, millions in jewelry and cash, a horse farm, and a fleet of luxury vehicles. 

But as he awaits trial in a Brooklyn jail cell, the ousted head of state is now pushing to have his case dismissed by arguing he doesn’t have enough money to pay for his own legal defense — and his lawyers argue his due process rights will be violated if Venezuela is unable to pay for his lawyers because of U.S. sanctions on the country.

“I understand that the government of Venezuela is prepared to fund my legal defense and it is my expectation that it will,” Maduro said in a sworn declaration. “I have relied on this expectation and cannot afford to pay for my own legal defense.”

As the Trump administration gradually warms relations with Venezuela, Thursday’s hearing marks the second time that the ousted Venezuelan leader has appeared in a United States courtroom since special operations forces captured him in Caracas in January.

During the status conference on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein is expected to hear from both sides about how the case will progress toward a trial, including what pre-trial motions the defense plans to make and how much evidence has been turned over by prosecutors.

In a move that triggered an international outcry, Maduro was captured and brought to the U.S. in January after the United States carried out what President Trump described as a “large scale strike” in the Venezuelan capital.

Maduro’s attorneys seek dismissal

Last month, attorneys for Maduro and Flores asked the court to dismiss the indictment after the Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OLFAC) restricted the ability for Venezuela to pay for their legal fees. 

Defense lawyers argue that the couple’s Sixth Amendment and due process rights would be violated if Venezuela is unable to financially support Maduro, who Venezuelan interim president Delcy Rodriguez says is still “the legitimate president” of the country.

“The conduct of the United States government not only undermines Mr. Maduro’s rights but also this Court’s mandate to provide a fair trial to all defendants who come before it in accordance with the protections afforded by the U.S. Constitution,” Maduro’s attorney Barry Pollack said in a motion last month.

Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York have pushed back on the request, arguing that Maduro and Flores are still allowed to access their own money to pay for their legal defense. While the Treasury Department initially allowed Venezuela to pay for their legal defense, prosecutors said the authorization was an “administrative error” and denied that the decision to change the terms of their license was targeted. 

“OFAC’s Longstanding sanctions regime predated the initiation of the criminal charges the defendants now face and was instituted for purposes completely separate from the criminal charges currently pending before this Court,” defense lawyers said. “The defendants’ attempts to portray OFAC’s sanctions as a targeted attack on the defendants and their rights are misleading and undermined by the facts and chronology of this case and OFAC’s independent decision-making.”

Defense attorneys expressed skepticism about that argument by highlighting that the Trump administration has recently issued multiple licenses to allow the export of Venezuelan oil and other goods despite the existing sanctions.

“There is no apparent reason why the use of Venezuelan funds to pay for the legal defense in this case jeopardizes national security and the government offers none,” defense attorneys said. “The national security emergency rationale that the government invokes, without explaining, has even less force now that the government has normalized relations with the government of Venezuela and recognized the current Venezuelan government.”

While the issue is fully briefed, the judge could opt to set a separate hearing on the motion.

‘I am innocent,” Maduro told the court

Maduro’s last appearance in federal court came just days after he was captured in Venezuela by U.S. special operations forces and transported to New York to face criminal charges.

After Judge Hellerstein summarized the charges against him, Maduro told the court through an interpreter that he is “the president of Venezuela” and that he was “captured at home in Caracas, Venezuela.” 

“I am innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man. I am still president of my country,” Maduro said to enter his plea.

Flores similarly pleaded not guilty after being informed of the charges against her and her rights. Their attorneys did not ask for bail or their release, though Judge Hellerstein said he would be open to reviewing a bail application in the future. In the meantime, the former heads of state have been detained at the federal detention center in Brooklyn.

As he was escorted out of the courtroom, Maduro responded to a member of the public seated in court who shouted at him in Spanish to say in part, “You will pay in the name of Venezuela.”

“I am the elected president. I am a prisoner of war. I will be free,” Maduro responded.

Maduro’s defense?

During his arraignment in January, Maduro’s attorney signaled that they will likely argue that Maduro should be protected from prosecution as a head of state.

“He is the head of a sovereign state,” said Pollack, added that there are “issues about the legality of his military abduction.”

Maduro’s lawyers have not yet filed any motions based on that argument, instead focusing on concerns about his due process rights after the Treasury Department cut off Venezuela’ s ability to pay for Maduro’s legal defense. 

According to ABC News Legal Contributor James Sample, Maduro’s lawyers could attempt to argue that he is protected by “head of state immunity,” which is a principle of international law that the leaders of other countries are shielded from the jurisdiction of other country’s criminal courts.

“They will be arguing that because he was the head of essentially a sister sovereign of another nation, and he was doing those things in that nation, that the United States courts lack the jurisdiction, which is simply to say the power to hold him criminally accountable,” Sample said. “Whether a U.S. court will embrace that defense or not is a different matter, but it is not a frivolous argument.”

Former Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega, who was never elected president, unsuccessfully attempted to use head-of-state immunity when he was tried in the U.S. on drug smuggling charges in 1991, but a federal appeals court concluding he “never served as the constitutional leader of Panama.”

What prosecutors allege

The Department of Justice initially brought an indictment against Maduro and 14 other Venezuelan officials in March of 2020, arguing they committed narco-terrorism by conspiring with drug cartels to allow the flow of cocaine into the United States.

Nearly six years later, prosecutors filed a new indictment charging Maduro, Flores, Maduro’s son, and three others with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy and weapons offenses.

“Nicolas Maduro Moros, the defendant, now sits atop a corrupt, illegitimate government that, for decades, has leveraged government power to protect and promote illegal activity, including drug trafficking,” the indictment said. 

Prosecutors alleged that Maduro allowed “cocaine-fueled corruption to flourish for his own benefit,” including by providing diplomatic cover to drug traffickers and money launderers. Maduro has pleaded not guilty and denies being involved in drug trafficking.  

“[Maduro] is at the forefront of that corruption and has partnered with his co-conspirators to use his illegally obtained authority and the institutions he corroded to transport thousands of tons of cocaine to the United States,” the indictment said. 

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