The father of seven-year-old Jakelin Amei Rosmery Caal Maquin reportedly told the Guatemalan Consul General he had “no complaints about how Border Patrol agents treated him and his daughter.
Guatemalan Consul General Tekandi Paniagua told CNN that Nery Gilberto Caal, the father of the little girl who died on December 8 after entering the U.S. and being detained by Border Patrol agents, told him the agents did everything they possibly could do to help his daughter.
CNN’s Jake Tapper tweeted a message said the consul general said the father confirmed the timeline put forth by DHS officials and said his daughter did not show any signs of distress until about 5 a.m. when the pair boarded a bus headed to the Lordsburg Border Patrol Station.
Guatemalan Consul Tekandi Paniagua tells CNN’s @edlavaCNN he met extensively with the father of 7-year-old Jakelin Caal Maquin Friday night in El Paso. Paniagua says the father of Jakelin has “no complaints about how Border Patrol agents treated him and his daughter.” 1/
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) December 15, 2018
Earlier on Saturday, Breitbart News published a detailed timeline from U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials regarding the circumstances leading from the little girl’s apprehension with her father and 161 other migrants until her tragic death hours later.
Nery Caal issued a statement on Saturday through his attorneys in which he said he was “grateful for the many first responders that tried to save young Jakelin’s life in New Mexico and Texas,” CNN reported.
His lawyers, Enrique Moreno and Elena Esparza, seemed more critical, stating that Nery Caal only speaks a Mayan language known as Q’eqchi’ that is used in part of his home country of Guatemala. The lawyers said that Spanish is his second language and that he speaks no English. They said “It is unacceptable for any government agency to have persons in custody sign documents in a language that they clearly do not understand,” in a written statement.
Border Patrol officials previously stated that when they conducted the initial interview with Caal and his daughter, that they did so in Spanish and then translated his answers to English to write them on the Form I779.
Caal is reportedly staying at Annunciation House, a migrant shelter in El Paso, Texas. Shelter Director Ruben Garcia said he could not comment on Caal’s legal status at this time. He did convey that Jakelin’s body has been embalmed and is on its way back to her village in Guatemala where her grieving mother and three other children await her return. Garcia said Caal was “able to spend time with her,” but could not travel home for the funeral, the CNN article states.
“Border Patrol Agents, including trained Emergency Medical Technicians did everything in their power to provide emergency medical assistance for Jakelin Caal Maquin immediately after her father notified the agents of her distress at a remote Forward Operating Base, 94 miles from the nearest Border Patrol Station, CBP Commissioner Kevin K. McAleenan said in a statement reported by Breitbart News. “Border Patrol Agents revived Jakelin twice before emergency responders arrived via air ambulance to continue medical care. Emergency Medical professionals transported her by helicopter to the nearest children’s hospital.”
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for the Breitbart Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Face
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