After the fire in a detention center for migrants, the Mexican judiciary has launched investigations into eight suspected perpetrators. Arrests have been ordered against four of them, human rights prosecutor Sara Irene Herrerías Guerra said on Wednesday, according to the newspaper El Universal.
These are a migrant suspected of setting the fire, along with two camp officials and an employee from a private security company. According to Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez, four other employees of the security company are also under investigation.
According to the government, at least 39 migrants died and 27 were injured in the fire in the northern Mexican border town of Ciudad Juarez on Tuesday night. Local media had reported 41 fatalities, four had died in hospital. According to the online portal “La Verdad Juarez”, most of the victims died from smoke inhalation. Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said on Tuesday that the fire was caused by protests by migrants who opposed their deportation.
The accommodation, which only accommodates men, is operated by the migration agency INM and is located a few meters from the Rio Bravo, which separates Mexico from the USA. A total of 68 people from Central and South America stayed in the accommodation. Many of them are from Venezuela. According to media reports, relatives of the victims accuse INM officials of not having opened the cells in time. The security minister said the government condemned the behavior of the INM officers who had not complied with the guidelines and promised a complete investigation.
Since 2018, there has been a massive increase in the number of migrants waiting at the Mexican border to enter the United States. According to US authorities, more than 2.5 million people were arrested trying to enter the country illegally in 2022. (epd)
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