By JACQI LEYVA-HILL
Special to the NEWS
Esmeralda Cantu-Castle, of Brownsville, the mother of slain U.S. Navy sailor Angelina “Angie” Resendiz, is continuing her statewide reform mission after her daughter’s death — and says she is running for Texas House District 37 to strengthen her advocacy and serve local families.
Cantu-Castle recently spoke to members of the San Benito Rotary Club and has also appeared before the local and national League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) audiences as she calls for military reforms to enable faster response, transparency and accountability in cases involving missing service members and sexual violence.
“Since Angie’s death, I have been pushing for reforms focused on immediate response, transparency, and real accountability,” Cantu-Castle said, adding that the way the military handles missing service members must change, arguing that reports should be treated seriously and acted on immediately.
She emphasized the distinction between AWOL (Absent Without Leave), an administrative classification, and DUSTWUN (Duty Status—Whereabouts Unknown), a designation for a missing service member whose whereabouts are unknown and requires an urgent response. “Treating missing service members as administrative issues instead of potential emergencies costs lives,” she said.
Cantu-Castle said she is grateful for the leadership of U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, who introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that requires the Department of Defense to report how many service members were labeled AWOL and later found deceased, and whether those service members were properly reported missing before being classified AWOL instead of DUSTWUN.
She also said the military should not operate “as a closed universe,” arguing that commands should not be solely responsible for serious legal and criminal matters involving their own personnel. “Service members are still citizens. They are not property,” she said, adding that she wants victims — especially those harmed by military sexual violence — to have meaningful access to courts.
During her presentation on Thursday, Cantu-Castle told Rotarians that her daughter’s death was preventable, describing what she called a pattern of quietly transferring alleged perpetrators rather than addressing crimes against women.
She also described delays and a lack of action after Angie reached out for help on May 29, 2025, sharing her location and asking friends for assistance. “The first forty-eight hours…are critical in finding someone alive,” Cantu-Castle said.
Local LULAC leaders said they have continued supporting Cantu-Castle’s work. “When we first heard about her daughter… and that she was from the Valley, we wanted to reach out to her to offer support,” said Elias Cantu, who added that local members attended the funeral in Brownsville and later invited her to speak in San Benito after meeting at the LULAC National Convention.
Cantu-Castle said she decided to run because “what we have right now is not working for the people,” and added, “Public office is advocacy… Running for State Representative does not take away from the work I am doing… It strengthens it.”
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