Official details of deadly fire at migrant center in Mexico challenged in investigative report
An investigative report released before the first anniversary the deadly fire at an immigration center in Ciudad Juárez which killed 40 migrants challenges the government's version of what took place and shows a series of security protocol failures at the facility.
MEXICO CITY — An investigative report released before the first anniversary of a fire at an immigration center in Ciudad Juárez that killed 40 migrants challenges the government's version of what happened and shows a series of security protocol failures.
According to Mexican authorities, the fire on March 27, 2023, started when a group of detained migrants began burning their mattresses in protest of overcrowded conditions and a lack of food and water. Security videos leaked shortly after the incident appear to show smoke coming out of a cell while immigration agents fled without helping the detained migrants.
The incident is still being investigated, and nine of the 11 people charged in the case await trial while they remain in prisons in Ciudad Juárez.
In April 2023, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said that the person who had the keys to the cell where the fire took place was not at the facility at the time.
But the cross-border report by the investigative sites Lighthouse Reports, El Paso Matters and the Juárez, Mexico-based La Verdad contradicts the government's account, which was also questioned after the deadly fire.
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