SAN YSIDRO, California – A troubling video released by ABC News on Friday shows U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers appearing to coerce a 16-year-old boy into drinking liquid meth -- the teen in the video died hours later.
The video comes three years after Cruz Marcelino Velazquez Acevedo was stopped by CBP officers at the San Ysidrio, California port of entry regarding "a discrepancy with his visa," a report from the American Civil Liberties Union said.
Recommended Videos
According to the ACLU, officers questioned the teen about two bottles of amber liquid he had in a backpack during a secondary inspection.
Read ABC News' investigative report: Video reveals how actions of US border officers led to tragedy
Teen reportedly told the officers the liquid was apple juice. ACLU said "agents coerced him to take 'a large sip'" to test his honesty and the teen complied.
The ACLU report said he became ill and started yelling "my heart, my heart" in Spanish before dying from acute methamphetamine intoxication at a hospital.
The video was released as part of ABC News' year-long investigation into the border agency.
A report from ABC News said the teen "took four drinks from the bottle," and that officers appeared to make hand gestures encouraging the Mexico high school student to keep drinking.
The report said the four sips totaled more than 100 times the average dose of methamphetamine.
The Consulate General of Mexico released the following statement to ABC News:
The Consulate General of Mexico in San Diego provided consular and legal assistance to Mr. Cruz Velazquez’s family since it learned about his death. This tragic incident highlights the need of greater transparency and accountability in immigration control activities.
The teen's family filed a civil suit against the officers involved in the incident -- Valerie Baird and Adrian Perallon -- and CBP. The U.S. government paid $1 million to settle the lawsuit.
The two officers are still employed with CBP and were not disciplined for the incident, according ABC News.
Watch the video below:
-------------------------------------------------------
Don't miss a thing. Get email alerts from KSAT 12 today.
Get alerted to news events as they happen or sign up for a scheduled news headline email that is delivered right to your inbox. Breaking news, severe weather, daily forecasts, entertainment news, all of the day’s important events to keep you up to date wherever you are.
Sign up today. It's Free.