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Deported Venezuelan man dies when Venezuelan detention hotel collapses in earthquake

Jun 24, 2026 · La Guaira, Venezuela, Venezuela

Deported Venezuelan man dies when Venezuelan detention hotel collapses in earthquake

Eduardo José Osal Mujica, 32, crossed the Darién Gap into the U.S., turned himself in to immigration authorities, and applied for asylum while working installing roofs and driving for Uber, settling first in Denver and later Wyoming. Local police detained him during a traffic stop in Wyoming, after which he was transferred through detention facilities in Colorado, Arizona and Texas before signing a deportation order. He was among 146 Venezuelans deported on Flight 164, which landed in Maiquetía, Venezuela on June 24, after which he and other deportees were taken to the Negra Hipólita Health Hotel for medical checkups before planned release to their home cities. The hotel collapsed in an earthquake that day, killing an unknown number of deportees while in Venezuelan custody. His wife, Danielys Hurtado, spent five days searching for his body among bags of corpses at an improvised morgue in a converted grain-storage facility. Nearly two months later, the Venezuelan government has released no official information on those who died, with survivor estimates ranging between 12 and 32.

Timeline

Aug 18, 2026Report published detailing his journey from Wyoming traffic stop detention to deportation and death, noting Venezuela had released no official information on deaths in custody
Jun 24, 2026Flight 164 carrying 146 deported Venezuelans, including Osal Mujica, landed in Maiquetía, Venezuela; deportees taken to Negra Hipólita Health Hotel, which collapsed in an earthquake that day, killing an unknown number of detainees
Jun 24, 2026Wife Danielys Hurtado began five-day search for his body among corpses at an improvised morgue

Sources

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