A Guatemalan official says he was told by the father of an 8-year-old boy who died in U.S. custody that the two had been traveling from their home in the Central American country to Tennessee, and that his son had been in "perfect health."
Oscar Padilla, the Guatemalan consul in Phoenix, also confirmed Tuesday that the boy's name was Felipe Gomez Alonzo.
The consul says he interviewed the father, 47-year-old Agustin Gomez, by telephone.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection says the boy died shortly after midnight on Christmas.
CBP says the boy was taken Monday with his father to a hospital in Alamogordo, New Mexico, where he was diagnosed with a cold and a fever, and released.
The agency says the boy was returned to the hospital Monday evening with nausea and vomiting. He died hours later.
A 7-year-old Guatemalan girl died earlier this month after being apprehended by border agents. Her funeral was held Christmas Day.
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