He died in Venezuela’s earthquakes a day after the US deported him. Now his mother’s seeking justice | CNN

Lee el artículo en español

Oswadeliz Núñez remembers arguing with her son Daniel when he decided to get a tattoo when he was 24. About four years later, that tattoo helped her identify Daniel’s body after he was killed in the twin earthquakes that devastated Venezuela last month.

Daniel had arrived back in Venezuela the day of the disaster, after being deported from the United States. From La Guaira, he called his mother from the phone of a Venezuelan intelligence service (SEBIN) officer, letting her know he was in the country.

“He told me, ‘No, Mom, we’re here with SEBIN officers,’” Núñez told CNN. He told her he and other deportees had eaten, had medical examinations and were set to spend the night at a hotel in Macuto in La Guaira, while the administrative procedures for their repatriation were being completed. The following day, he would make the nearly seven-hour trip to the town of El Tigre to reunite with his mother.

That reunion never happened. About 40 minutes after what would be his last call to his mother, the earth shook and the hotel he was in crumbled to the ground – trapping many of its inhabitants beneath the rubble.