A man fatally shot by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Houston, Texas, on July 7 was carrying salt, not illegal drugs, according to an attorney representing his family. The attorney, Ruby Powers, is urging for expedited testing of the substance to clear the names of those involved.
Agents reported finding a white, crystal-like substance on the dashboard and floorboard of the vehicle driven by Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and his brother, Victor Salgado Araujo, who survived the incident. Powers stated the substance was granulated salt, intended to be mixed with lemon and water for an electrolyte beverage for workers in extreme outdoor temperatures, and not methamphetamine or any other illicit substance.
"An unidentified substance is not a confirmed narcotic. We are requesting that the substance testing be expedited so that their names be cleared," Powers said.
Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare indicated he also does not believe the substance found was drugs. However, Teare noted that whether the substance was illegal or not has no bearing on the justification of the use of force that resulted in Mr. Salgado's death.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, stated that the agents were searching for two Guatemalan men in a white van when they encountered a similar vehicle driven by Lorenzo Salgado Araujo. The agents, who were not equipped with body cameras, claimed they opened fire after the vehicle ignored commands and attempted to drive away while an officer was partially inside or immediately next to the van.
Aaron Reitz, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas, requested the public's patience for a full investigation, stating, "We are doing everything we can to seek the truth and do the right thing."
However, an attorney who spoke with three individuals present in Salgado Araujo's vehicle contradicted the DHS account. Hugo Balderas-Ibarra, a Houston attorney, stated in a video posted to Instagram that the agents' description of the event was "completely false." He asserted that the van never rammed ICE agents and that the agents' lives were never in danger, adding that the agents' accounts were inconsistent with the recollections of the passengers.
