The death of Bryan Rayo Garzón, a young Colombian migrant who was in ICE custody, has unleashed a new storm between Bogotá and Washington.
President Gustavo Petro held nothing back and ordered his Foreign Ministry to send a strong note of protest to the government of Donald Trump, after describing U.S. detention centers as authentic “concentration camps”.
“He wanted to call his mom and they wouldn’t let him”
A young Colombian committed suicide in a U.S. government *ICE concentration camp.
He wanted to call his mother and was not allowed to. He decided to commit suicide.
The Colombian Foreign Ministry should deliver a note of protest and the U.S. government should reflect on how the Colombian policy. .. https://t.co/SF5k6IrFNd
– Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) May 27, 2026
The case that sparked the fury of the Colombian president is that of Brayan Rayo Garzón, a young man who lost his life on April 8 in Phelps County, Missouri.
According to the version shared by Petro on social networks, Rayo Garzón allegedly took his own life after weeks of isolation and the refusal of immigration authorities to allow him one last call with his mother.
“A young Colombian man committed suicide (sic) in an ICE concentration camp of the U.S. government. He wanted to call his mother and was not allowed to do so. He decided to commit suicide,” Petro said in X, where he ordered the Foreign Ministry to “deliver a note of protest”.
In the president’s opinion, “the US government must reflect on how the immigration policy is killing Americans and Latin Americans”.
Petro also paid tribute to Bryan Rayo Garzón and demanded clear answers about the conditions in which he had been held since June 2024.
Suicide or negligence? ICE’s dark history
💥 Colombian president slams US ICE detention after migrant suicide
Colombian President Gustavo Petro condemned the death of Brayan Rayo Garzón, a young Colombian man who reportedly took his own life in a US ICE detention facility.
According to Petro, Rayo Garzón wanted to call… pic.twitter.com/2iiOdW8MNT
– brane mijatovic (@brane_mija64426) May 27, 2026
Rayo’s death is not an isolated event.
Activists and medical examiners have put under scrutiny the recurring label of “suicide” that ICE gives to deaths in its centers.
Recent cases of Nicaraguan and Cuban migrants in El Paso, Texas, have fueled suspicions of negligence and mistreatment.
Currently, the U.S. has record numbers with more than 73,000 migrants in detention, the highest level since 2001, which has collapsed the system and degraded the humane conditions inside the facilities.
A relationship that hangs by a thread
This incident comes at the most fragile moment in the bilateral relationship.
Since Trump began his second term in January 2025, the clash with Petro has been constant:
January 2025: Petro halted deportation flights for “inhumane treatment”.
Drug trafficking: Washington decertified Colombia in the fight against drugs.
Sanctions: Trump threatened tariffs, while the US sanctioned officials close to the Casa de Nariño.
Although there was a brief thaw after a meeting in February, the case of Brayan Rayo once again puts the two leaders on a collision course.
Filed under: Brayan Rayo Garzón
