Mexico investigates 8 officials over deadly fire at migrant facility
Mexican officials appear to place blame for the fire deaths largely on private, subcontracted security guards.
LEARN MOREPosted: 12:55 p.m. EDT Mar 31, 2023
Five people are now under arrest in connection with a fire that killed 39 migrants at a migrant detention facility in Juarez, Mexico, just south of El Paso, Texas.
On Thursday, Mexican authorities announced that three government immigration officials and two security guards are now in custody.
Investigators say they fled the fire themselves but didn't let the detainees out, leaving them to die.
An arrest warrant has also been issued for a sixth person, one of the migrants who is suspected of setting the fire. According to local authorities, the suspect suffered minor injuries and has already been released from the hospital.
The federal prosecutor leading the investigation, Sara Irene Herrerías, said the suspects are facing charges of homicide and causing injuries.
The investigation has also been expanded to all areas of responsibility for the National Immigration Institute and anyone involved with the operations of the migrant detention facility, Herrerías said.
Flames broke out Tuesday night after migrants set their mattresses ablaze after learning they were being deported, said Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
28 people were injured, and as of Thursday, 27 remained hospitalized and one was discharged, according to Federal Public Safety Secretary Rosa Icela Rodríguez.
