Army Finds Fort Cavazos Soldier Ana Basaldua Ruiz Died By Suicide Amid Toxic Culture

The Army Criminal Investigation Division concluded that the March 13, 2023 death of Hispanic soldier Ana Basaldua Ruiz at Fort Hood—renamed later Fort Cavazos—was a suicide, according to a final report Noticias Telemundo obtained exclusively.

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Noticias Telemundo said the investigation described a toxic culture permissive of harassment of women, including an assault by a sergeant who attempted to suffocate her and a case where she was forced to change units after an 'inappropriate relationship' that a superior had with her, who was not punished.

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In another case, The Intercept reported that 23-year-old Sarah Roque was fatally shot in the head by Wooster Rancy, a fellow soldier stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and that the Army found her body in a dumpster behind the barracks.

The Intercept said Rancy had gone to Walmart for trash bags on the last day Roque was seen alive in October 2024, and that Rancy was convicted of murder in February.

Ana Roque told The Intercept, "Even now, I still can’t believe it," and said, "That murderers could exist in one of the supposedly safest places in the country."

Noticias Telemundo reported that Basaldua enlisted in August 2021 at 18 years old and that in March 2022 a service member admitted to investigators that "it was possible" that on one occasion he tried to suffocate her, but said he did it 'as a joke.'

The report described that Basaldua was moved to a different platoon after an investigation concluded there was an 'inappropriate relationship,' while her supervisor was promoted and assigned to another brigade 'to have a new start as a leader.'

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In response to the investigation’s conclusions, Basaldua’s father Baldo Basaldua told Noticias Telemundo, "My daughter did not commit suicide; my daughter was killed," and her mother Alejandra Ruiz Zarco agreed, "Anita didn't do it. I don't agree with what the investigators say,".

The Intercept quoted Ana Roque saying, "There was no connection between Sarah and Rancy. They never spoke, never texted, and their paths never crossed," and added that she could not complain about prosecutors because, "I can’t complain about the prosecutors, they did their job."

The Intercept also included a statement from an Army spokesperson, Heather Hagan, saying, "The Army has several programs and policies to protect service members who experience sexual assault or domestic violence," and said the spokesperson denied protections were insufficient.

The Intercept said its analysis found that between 2011 and August 2025, at least 41 women died by homicide in the Army, with more than half killed by other service members or veterans, and that over 70 percent of victims had an intimate relationship with the perpetrator at one point.

“BROWNSVILLE - On Thursday afternoon, the remains of Soldier Miguel Ángel Villalón arrived, a young man from Brownsville who died in Afghanistan in the line of duty”

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It reported that in addition to the 41 women who died by homicide, another 128 died by suicide, and that from 2011 to 2024 homicide and suicide rates for women in the Army were double their equivalents for women nationwide.

The Intercept said the Army doesn’t make the findings public and that it found flaws in data collection, including that homicide and suicide death rates are not separated by gender or calculated per capita, preventing deeper analysis and comparison.

The Intercept also said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth eliminated the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services in September, which had existed for nearly 75 years, and that in January he ordered a six-month review of women in combat roles.

In the Basaldua case, Noticias Telemundo reported that Basaldua’s family is pressuring for at least a permanent mention of the assault to be included in her file, and that they do not accept the version that she took her own life.