Escobar described that she was several walls down or missing from some of the tents. She added that she learned that 12 detainees had assaulted detention officers with minor injuries, adding that the most serious injury was to a guard’s mouth and that they ended up getting stitches.<\/p>\n
Escobar said the riot was blamed on Venezuelans.<\/p>\n
“Camp East Montana has been operational for well over a year now, and for over a year, nothing like this has happened,” Escobar told the press. “And so I was very curious to know what has changed, what happened? Why is this happening now, when this didn’t happen in the almost entire year prior to this event happening, the response was: ‘it’s the Venezuelans… They’re a tough population.'”<\/p>\n
Escobar elaborated on that, saying that what she has learned is that since the earthquake in Venezuela, there have been limited deportation flights, frustrating Venezuelan detainees who want to go back to their country.<\/p>\n
“They shared with me that the average length of stay for the Venezuelans, or actually for everyone there, is now under 60 days,” Escobar said, adding that she needs to find data to back those claims up, as she said she has talked to detainees who have told her different. “I will be very candid with you. I have spoken to detainees, and I’ve shared with all of you who’ve been there for six months, who’ve been there for seven months. There was a detainee who had been there for a year. So I, I actually need to see the data.”<\/p>\n
Escobar said that while the detainees who rioted should be held accountable, she believes the contractor behind Camp East Montana, Amentum Services, Inc., should be held responsible as well, as they are being paid a lot. <\/p>\n
“So while I absolutely agree that there should be consequences and accountability for those participants, my question was what will the accountability be for the contractor? The contractor, in my view, shares blame and responsibility,” Escobar said. “They are being paid over $1 billion of our tax money… American taxpayers should not foot the bill for the destruction of that property or the replacement of that property if the contractor was not adequately staffed up, if their personnel are not adequately trained, if they do not know how to handle a large number of detainees, that is an issue.”<\/p>\n
Watch full press conference:<\/p>\n
![\"El](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/c2b2cb67-36c3-4a6a-8faa-5e7bb4c3143d-Screenshot20260910120434.jpg\")
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El Paso Congresswoman Veronica Escobar. Sept. 10, 2026. Credit: KFOX14\/CBS4<\/p>\n
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