FBI suggests migrants’ van in fatal Houston shooting had meth. A lawyer says it was salt. 50%
By Alex Nguyen37% Uriel J. García16%
7/16/2026, 5:22:41 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 31 faulty reasoning types, including Self-Serving Bias, Appeal to Authority, and Appeal to Emotion, with Confirmation Bias as the most egregious example at 21.9% saturation with 144 hits. Analysis detected 1,557 faulty-reasoning hits from 657 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 50.1% and a BS Rank of 50% (10,729 of 21,180 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 50.70% of the article peer group.
The FBI sought a search warrant to seize plastic bags with “crystal-like substances” inside the van of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who was fatally shot by an immigration agent last week.
The FBI said it suspects methamphetamine, but the lawyer representing Salgao Araujo’s brother on Thursday said it was granulated salt.
“After consulting with my client and his family, our understanding is that this was granulated salt, which is paired with lemon and water as a homemade electrolyte mix used by outdoor workers in extreme Texas heat, not methamphetamine or any other illicit substance,” said Ruby Powers, a Houston immigration attorney representing Victor Hugo Salgado Araujo, who was the front passenger inside the van.
Powers said in a statement on Thursday that she is asking the FBI to expedite the testing so “their names can be cleared.
“But no test result, whatever it ultimately shows, will change the fact that deadly force was used against Lorenzo,” Powers said.
“You cannot shoot first and ask questions later.”
The other two men in the van have also said there were no illegal drugs in the vehicle and that they would sometimes carry salt to mix with water and help prevent cramps while working in the Texas heat, according to Hugo Balderas-Ibarra, their attorney.
Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who had lived and worked in Houston for nearly 35 years, had no criminal record, according to officials and available public records.
His family said he was in the final stages of obtaining legal status through his children, who are U.S. citizens.
The 52-year-old man was also not the intended target of the ICE operation that led to his fatal shooting on July 7, according to U.S.
Rep.
Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, who said she got that information from acting ICE Director David Venturella.
A spokesperson for the FBI’s Houston office, which is investigating whether there was an assault on a federal law enforcement officer, referred questions to the U.S.
Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.
The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General is investigating the shooting.
Aaron Reitz, the newly appointed U.S.
Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, said in a statement that his office believes federal law enforcement “will conduct a thorough investigation.
“We are doing everything we can to seek the truth and do the right thing,” he said.
“In the meantime, I encourage the public to give the FBI and DHS the opportunity to investigate.”
An application for an FBI search warrant alleged that there were “small clear plastic bags” in Salgado Araujo’s van containing white “crystal-like substances.”
FBI Special Agent David McNeilly, who filed the application, then wrote that he believed the substances could be methamphetamine based on the packaging and appearance.
The application was made public a day after it was filed in court on Tuesday, even though federal agents don’t typically publicize such information that quickly.
Court records on Thursday didn’t indicate that the FBI had revealed what was collected from the van, or whether testing had been completed.
Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare — whose office is running its own investigation into the shooting — has also expressed doubt about the FBI’s suspicions in an interview with CNN, citing information that he said his team has but is not yet releasing.
“But my understanding is that this substance is being tested by the FBI, either today or in the next few days, and I think it’s so important to the public that those results be shared immediately,” Teare said in the Thursday interview.
Lomi Kriel contributed to this story.
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100%flagged-word coverageRuby Powers
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