U.S. to Pay $1M to Family of Mexican Teen Who Died While in Custody Andrew V. Pestano - UPI
go to original March 22, 2017

People line up to cross into the U.S. from Mexico in San Ysidro, California (John Moore/Getty Images)

The U.S. government has agreed to pay $1 million to the family of a Mexican teenager who died after drinking liquid methamphetamine when U.S. Border Protection officers told him to prove it was apple juice as the teen claimed.

A legal complaint said Cruz Velazquez Acevedo, 16, died in November 2013 after being stopped by officers on the U.S. side of the border while he was going through San Diego's San Ysidro Port of Entry.

Cruz was carrying two bottles of liquid he claimed were filled with apple juice. Court documents said U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers Adrian Perallon and Valerie Baird told Cruz to drink the liquid to prove he was not lying.

Cruz took four sips and shortly began sweating profusely and started screaming and clenching his fists, court documents said. Within minutes, his temperature jumped to 105 degrees and his heart beat at a rate of 220 beats per minute, more than twice the normal rate for adults.

"Mi corazón! Mi corazón!" Acevedo screamed, according to court records, which translates to "My heart! My heart!"

He died about two hours after ingesting the liquid.

Read the rest at UPI

Related: U.S. Government Agrees to $1 Million Settlement in Mexican Man’s Death (Northern California Record)

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