In the midst of her grief, renowned Haitian-American author Edwidge Danticat described a "personal nightmare" involving the uncle who raised her in Haiti and died this month in U.S. custody after arriving in Miami.

"It is my nightmare that he died alone handcuffed to a bed," she said during a telephone interview from Brooklyn, where the wake of her 81-year-old uncle, Joseph Dantica, was held Friday night.

Dantica, a minister, died Nov. 3, five days after he fled Haiti for Miami, applied for asylum out of fear of gang violence in Port-au-Prince, and was detained by federal authorities as they reviewed his case.

As Brooklyn's Haitian community grieved for her uncle, Danticat, her family and a group of Haitian activists reiterated calls for an investigation into his death.

"They're claiming the detention had nothing to do with his death, but unfortunately the evidence suggests otherwise," Jocelyn McCalla, executive director of the National Coalition for Haitian Rights, said in a telephone interview.

Russ Knocke, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, called the death "horribly unfortunate and tragic" but said the agency was not responsible.

"His detention had no bearing whatsoever on his passing," Knocke said by telephone from Washington. Knocke said Dantica died of a pre-existing condition — inflammation of the pancreas.

Danticat, the author of the 1995 National Book Award finalist "Krik? Krak!" said she is skeptical of the government's explanation.

"They're claiming a pre-existing condition we never knew he had," she said. "It was a complete shock to us."

Rep. Kendrick Meek , D-Fla., is among those who have asked Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge to investigate, but Knocke said the case "would presumably be closed out" because the death already has been carefully reviewed.

Danticat lived with her uncle in Haiti until she left for New York at age 12. She spells her name differently because of a clerical error on her father's birth certificate.

Danticat said her uncle should not have been detained because he entered with a valid multiple-entry visa that had previously been accepted without problem. Knocke said he could not confirm that the visa was valid.

Danticat also said her uncle's blood-pressure medication had been seized and his family had not been permitted to see him.

Knocke said he was unaware of any confiscated medication. He said it is government policy that only a lawyer be permitted access to detainees pending a review for asylum.