The stepmother of former Democratic presidential contender Julián Castro and his twin brother, Texas Rep Joaquin Castro, has died from coronavirus.
Joaquin Castro broke the news in a tweet on Thursday night, writing: ‘My stepmom, Alice Guzman, passed away today from COVID-19.’
The Democrat congressman included a photo of Guzman with his young daughter, noting that she had been married to his father for 31 years.
‘Alice was a warm, loving person and we’ll miss her incredibly,’ he wrote. ‘My heart goes out to the families who’ve lost loved ones to this terrible illness.’
Julián Castro, the former mayor of San Antonio who served as secretary for Housing and Urban Development under President Barack Obama, replied to his brother’s tweet writing: ‘May she Rest in Peace.’
The stepmother of former Democratic presidential contender Julián Castro (left) and his twin brother, Texas Rep Joaquin Castro (right), died from coronavirus on Thursday
Joaquin Castro broke the news in a tweet on Thursday night (pictured)
Joaquin Castro’s tweet included a photo of Alice Guzman with his young daughter, noting that she had been married to his father for 31 years
Julián Castro, the former mayor of San Antonio who served as secretary for Housing and Urban Development under President Barack Obama, replied to his brother’s tweet writing: ‘May she Rest in Peace’
The Castros’ did not offer any additional details on how long their stepmother had struggled with coronavirus.
It’s believed she died in their hometown of San Antonio, where infections have surged in recent weeks.
A number of fellow politicians, Hollywood actors and journalists expressed their condolences on Twitter.
Julián’s former presidential rival Kamala Harris wrote: ‘Sending you, your family, and the entire Castro team our love during this difficult time.’
Wendy Davis, a US House candidate in Texas, tweeted: ‘I’m so sorry for the loss of such an important part of your family, my dear friend. Sending you and yours warm hugs and prayers of comfort.’
California Rep Nanette Barragan also reached out, writing: ‘So so sorry for your loss. A terrible virus that is taking too many of our loved ones. Thanks for sharing the lovely photo of your daughter with her. My prayers to you and your family.’
Star Wars actor Mark Hamill replied with a broken heart emoji, while Roseanna Arquette tweeted: ‘I’m so sorry for your loss. this is very sad.’
A number of fellow politicians, Hollywood actors and journalists expressed their condolences on Twitter – including Julián’s former presidential rival Kamala Harris
The news of Guzman’s death came as Bexar County, which includes San Antonio, reported 954 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, bringing its total to 17,679 cases and 165 deaths.
Texas broke its previous record for daily deaths on Thursday as 105 new ones were reported across the state, bringing the total to 3,006.
The state has continued to see back-to-back days with record-breaking case counts and now has the fourth-most in the country with more than 236,400.
Nationwide infections are on the rise in 41 states. As of Friday the US has recorded nearly 3.12 million cases and 133,291 deaths.
Joaquin Castro has been a vocal critic of President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic in the past.
In April he decried how people had ‘needlessly suffered and died’ as a result of the Trump administration’s handling of the outbreak.
‘Based on everything that I’ve seen, they should have known exactly what was going on, should have prepared better for it and should have established the infrastructure early on to deal with it,’ the congressman told MSNBC.
‘The president didn’t do any of that and here we are now.’
Source: Daily Mail
