Costa Rican Detainee Dies at Louisiana ICE Facility After Family Says Diabetes Care Lapsed

A 36-year-old Costa Rican man with type 1 diabetes died in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody at a Louisiana facility in September, becoming the third detainee to die at the complex in less than six months, according to ICE and accounts from his family.

Carlos Josue Marchena Marchena was found unresponsive on Sept. 18 at the Winn Correctional Center in Winnfield, ICE said in a statement. Staff began lifesaving measures before he was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The official cause of death is pending further medical examination.

His sister, Franciny Marchena, his girlfriend, Ana Leon Castro, and a Honduran detainee held in the adjacent cell, Luis Herrera Andy, said Marchena repeatedly complained of missed insulin shots, insufficient food and water, and a lack of blood sugar monitoring as he was transferred between facilities in multiple states. His condition deteriorated after arriving at Winn, and he died less than a week later, his family said.

ICE said Marchena received appropriate medical care and was seen by medical professionals. LaSalle Corrections, the contractor that manages the facility with the Winn Parish Sheriff's Office, said the death is under review and declined to answer questions, adding that it is committed to the highest standards of care. The Winn Parish Sheriff's Office and the Winn Parish Coroner's Office did not respond to requests for comment.

According to his sister, Marchena's health began to worsen about two weeks before his death while he was held at an immigration detention center in Michigan, where he was placed in a security cell after an argument with another detainee. After his transfer to Winn, he told her and his girlfriend that he had chest pain and was not getting enough to eat or drink, in part because the food was sometimes spoiled. It was not known whether he had an underlying heart condition.

Herrera said Marchena received insulin only irregularly and was given pills for his chest pain by a doctor, after which he returned angry. The day before he was found dead, Herrera said, Marchena had stomach pain, headaches, chills and vomiting, and appeared pale purple and drenched in sweat. Leon Castro said he called around midnight, hours before his death, to say the pills were not helping.

Dr. Rajesh Garg, who heads the diabetes unit at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, said sufficient food, water and insulin at regular intervals are crucial for managing type 1 diabetes and avoiding a life-threatening condition. Stress increases the need for care and regular blood sugar testing, he said, and a lack of proper food and water stresses the body. Cardiac arrest can result from too little or too much insulin in a diabetic person, Garg said, and vomiting, headaches, nausea and stomach pain can signal a life-threatening insulin deficiency, though other causes such as infection are possible.

A June report by the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General said an unannounced inspection at Winn found violations of standards governing medical care, food service, use of force and other areas, including improperly stored frozen food. Medical staff failed to keep updated treatment documents and laboratory testing records, which could negatively impact detainee health care and safety, the report warned. ICE agreed with nine recommendations for improvement and had implemented several of them.

Marchena entered the U.S. without legal status in February 2021, ICE said. The agency said he had prior misdemeanor convictions for retail fraud and property destruction before his arrest in January by the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department in Michigan for assault. An immigration judge ordered his deportation in July, according to the Department of Homeland Security. His sister said he had requested bail and voluntary deportation to Costa Rica, but was denied; ICE did not respond when asked about the denial.

Marchena, who worked as a ride service driver and had four children, was the first Costa Rican detainee to die in an ICE facility during President Donald Trump's second term, according to tracking. He is at least the 58th ICE detainee to die since January 2025, and medical examiners and coroners have ruled diabetes a contributing factor in at least six of those deaths. Detainees with diabetes have frequently complained in court filings of inconsistent access to insulin and other medications.

The deaths have drawn mounting scrutiny of ICE detention facilities and whether they are medically neglecting detainees and forcing them to live in inhumane conditions, charges the agency denies.