By NOMAAN MERCHANT and SONIA PÉREZ D.
Associated Press

HOUSTON (AP) - Juan de León Gutiérrez told his mother he was calling from a warehouse in Mexico, hidden by a human smuggler who had been paid to take the teenager into the United States. He complained of a headache and difficulty sleeping.

He later died after officials at a Texas youth detention facility noticed he was sick. He is the third Guatemalan child to die in U.S. custody since December.

The death has heightened scrutiny of the U.S. government's ability to adequately care for the surge in migrant families and children crossing the border in recent months.

The two earlier deaths - of children aged 7 and 8 - had already prompted border authorities to change practices to ensure that sick immigrants were getting the proper medical care.

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