New information about the fire at the immigration detention center in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez. Legal action is being taken against those responsible for the center. We also know a little more about the countries of origin of the 39 migrants who died at the detention center located a few meters from the American city of El Paso, Texas.
Several officers and other employees in charge of the disaster are being prosecuted in Mexican courts for homicide. They are accused of not having come to the rescue of the victims despite their numerous cries of distress.
In a video circulating on social networks, several employees of the center were noticed abandoning their posts while the detainees were screaming for help.
Of the 68 immigrants detained at the Ciudad Ciudad Juarez center, 39 have lost their lives while 29 others are seriously injured.
Accusing the detainees of having caused the disaster in less than 24 hours after the tragedy, the Mexican president Manuel Lopez Obrador changed his speech calling now for a thorough investigation to establish the responsibilities. Andrez Manuel Lopez Obrador announced that warrants will be issued against the agents and employees in charge of security at the center on the day of the fire.
A Venezuelan immigrant woman, whose husband was transferred to the Center on the day of the fire, says she witnessed the tragedy. None of the agents in charge did anything to open the doors of the detention center, she lamented.
This is also the conclusion of Sara Irene Herrerias Guerra, Mexican federal prosecutor for human rights. “None of the officials or private security agents did anything to open the door for the migrants who were inside, where the fire started,” Guerra lamented.
Immigrant rights organizations deplored the incident, which they say is evidence of the mistreatment of migrants who are treated as criminals when they are only looking for a better life for themselves and their families.
“These migrant detention centers run by the Mexican government are notoriously abusive, overcrowded and dangerous, and rarely provide adequate food or water,” criticized Guerline Jozef, co-founder and executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, an immigrant rights organization on the southern border of the United States and Mexico. The activist also deplored the behavior of the Mexican head of state, who blamed the tragedy on the victims before even investigating the situation. “We call on the Mexican government to immediately investigate this incident in order to answer the many questions that remain unanswered: why were the migrants not released from the detention center when the fire broke out and what conditions led to this inferno?” she questioned in a statement issued the day after the tragedy.
No Haitian migrants among the deceased
In this statement sent to CaribbeanTelevisionNetwork, the organization “Haitian Bridge Alliance” also provided details on the countries of origin of the victims.
The deceased detainees would be from Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Venezuela, according to Haitian Bridge Alliance which had not given details on the people injured during the disaster.