Father of Little Girl Who Died in Border Control Custody Says He Has No Complaints With Treatment

The father of the little girl who died in Border Patrol custody has issued a statement — via the Guatemalan consulate — saying that he has no complaints with the way the U.S. agents treated them.

Jakelin Caal Maquin, 7, was among a group of 163 migrants taken into custody at a remote border crossing Dec.6.  She was traveling with her father, Nery Gilberto Caal.

Upon being taken into custody Caal — who speaks an indigenous Guatemalan language and converses in Spanish as a second language –was asked to sign a form saying the child was healthy.  That form was in English,  a language he does not speak or read.

Just two days later little Jakelin was dead.

According to a CNN report, however, Caal does not have a problem with their treatment once in custody.

“New information just into CNN about the Guatemalan migrant girl who died in U.S. Border patrol custody last weekend,” Ana Cabrera said on the air Saturday afternoon. “Despite the outrage following the 7-year-old’s death, the Guatemalan counsel tells CNN her father has no complaints with how U.S. Agents treated them.”

In a separate statement read by the director of a shelter that houses migrants and also played by CNN, the family is also calling for an investigation into the incident.

That statement read, in part:

The death of a child is the most painful experience that a parent or family can endure. Jakelin just five days past her seventh birthday was a beautiful and loving child. Jakelin and her father came to the United States seeking something that thousands have been seeking for years. An escape from the dangerous situation in their home country. This was their right under U.S. and international law. ..The family is seeking an objective and thorough investigation and are asking that investigators will access this incident with nationally recognized standards for the custody of children.

Watch more above, via CNN