MEXICO CITY, July 9 (Xinhua) -- The Mexican government plans to file criminal complaints with U.S. prosecutors and the Department of Justice over Mexican nationals' deaths related to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) service, Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco said Thursday.
At a press conference presided by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, Velasco said his ministry will ask Mexico's Attorney General's Office to file the formal complaints.
The decision came as the number of Mexicans who have died in ICE-related incidents hits 17, with 14 dying in ICE detention centers and three during agency raids.
The latest victim was Lorenzo Salgado, who was shot multiple times by U.S. immigration agents on Tuesday. His case "must be investigated with the utmost seriousness," said Velasco.
Mexico has exhausted diplomatic channels, said Velasco, noting that the country has sent 11 diplomatic notes of protest to the U.S. government regarding these cases and has raised the issue with United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk.
"We are going to move beyond the diplomatic sphere and go directly to the United States prosecutors to file complaints on these incidents, requesting a criminal investigation into what is happening, what has happened," he said.
Mexico will also pursue civil suits against the companies that operate ICE detention centers for alleged human rights violations, and request precautionary measures from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to protect Mexican detainees, he said.
According to the foreign minister, Mexico will continue to have dialogue with the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, and other U.S. authorities. ■