Methamphetamine Allegation in Fatal ICE Shooting of Mexican National Proven False; Substance Was Homemade Electrolyte Mix

A “crystal-like” substance that federal authorities alleged was methamphetamine inside the van of a Mexican national killed by immigration authorities in Texas was actually salt for homemade energy drinks, his family’s attorney says. Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old construction worker who had lived in the United States for 35 years, was fatally shot in the stomach by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Houston on July 7. Federal investigators initially obtained a warrant to search his van after telling a judge that plastic bags containing a “white crystal-like substance” found inside the vehicle could be methamphetamine. However, family attorney Ruby L. Powers told CNN’s John King that the substance was a “homemade electrolyte mix” intended for a drink. Speaking to The New York Times, Powers clarified that Salgado Araujo and his brother mixed salt and lemon into water to stay hydrated while working outside in the extreme Texas heat. “He puts it in a water bottle and makes his own Gatorade, an electrolyte mix,” Powers said, adding that the family was deeply concerned that the public release of the warrant would prejudice public opinion before toxicology results were completed. When King pointed out that the warrant was initially sealed, Powers said she had not been told why it was made public. “Experts have said that it’s very unusual, of the way that it was sealed and then unsealed, and I think ultimately, that’s why we came out with the statement that we did,” Powers said. “Even though it was the day of the visitation of Lorenzo, and the family was otherwise detained with the family and the public viewing, was because of the impact on public opinion and just wanting to clear my client’s name.” Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare also expressed skepticism regarding the federal drug claims. Teare told The New York Times in a statement that, based on information gathered about the passengers, the presence of illegal drugs in the van appeared inconsistent. The conflicting accounts over the bags come amid growing questions about the fatal shooting. According to a video statement released by Aaron Reitz, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas, ICE agents were initially pursuing a different suspect when they attempted to pull over Salgado Araujo’s white van. Reitz stated that the van initially fled the scene by making a rapid U-turn over a median. Agents located the vehicle again later that morning and surrounded it. Reitz said that when two officers approached and ordered Salgado Araujo to park, the driver shifted the vehicle into reverse and then forward while an officer was positioned next to or partially inside the van. An agent then fired a single shot. That official sequence of events is contested by witnesses. Two passengers in the van told a local congresswoman that the approaching officers never identified themselves as law enforcement, and that the fatal shot was fired directly through the front passenger window, as reported by The New York Times. Advocates for outdoor laborers say that mixing salt into water is a routine practice for those working in high temperatures. Laura Perez-Boston, organizing director with the Workers Defense Project Fund, told the publication via email that many construction workers frequently prepared their own hydrating beverages rather than buying brand-name sports drinks.