Colombian President Gustavo Petro has instructed the Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio to send a formal protest note to the United States government over Colombian citizen Brayan Rayo Garzon being killed while in immigration, or ICE, custody. The detainee attempted to kill himself on April 7, 2025, at the Phelps County Jail in Rolla, Missouri, and doctors confirmed his brain death the following day at a hospital in St. Louis.
The diplomatic protest coincides with the release of an Associated Press (AP) investigation indicating an increase in the suicide rate within Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities. According to the investigation, at least 10 ICE detainees have died by suicide under the current administration of Donald Trump.
The Colombian president described the U.S. detention centers as concentration camps. Petro stated that the young man made the decision because staff at the facility prevented him from contacting his mother by phone. The Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs will send a formal protest to the Trump administration requesting specific details about the case.
Se suicidio un joven colombiano en un campo de concentración de *ICE del gobierno estadounidense.
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) May 27, 2026
Quería llamar a su mamá y no se le permitió. Decidió el suicidio.
La cancillería colombiana debe entregar nota de protesta y el gobierno de EEUU debe reflexionar cómo la política… https://t.co/SF5k6IrFNd
The investigation into negligence
ICE records indicate that the Colombian citizen was held in isolation for four days after exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19. During this isolation, custodial staff collected two handwritten notes in Spanish that the detainee slipped under his door.
The notes requested that the guards authorize a phone call to his family in Colombia. The guards translated the notes using a cell phone, but denied the call, and shortly afterward, they found the detainee unconscious.
ICE classified the detainee as a low risk to public safety before his incarceration in Missouri. Despite this, the jail administration canceled the 27-year-old’s scheduled mental health appointment. The jail cited staff shortages to justify canceling the follow-up psychological treatment at the facility’s clinic.
Rayo’s previous legal situation
The Colombian citizen entered the United States illegally on Nov. 13, 2023, through the San Ysidro, California, border crossing. An immigration judge issued a formal deportation order against him on June 12, 2024. Subsequently, in Jan. 2025, the St. Louis police arrested the young man on charges related to credit card fraud, which led to his final transfer to ICE custody on March 25 of that same year.
The protest note strains a bilateral relationship already experiencing recent friction. Both governments held high-level meetings following a direct presidential meeting on Feb. 3 at the White House, intended to resolve differences over the temporary suspension of deportation flights to Colombia.
The victim’s family publicly denounced recurring mistreatment, restrictions on personal hygiene, and the provision of only one meal per day at the Phelps County facility. Separately, the Office of the Inspector General opened a formal review of compliance with minimum standards of confinement at the Missouri facility.