Prosecutors charge officials for the death of 40 migrants in Mexico
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Prosecutors charge Salvador Gonzalez Guerrero and 4 other officials for the death of 40 migrants at the National Institute of Migration in Chihuahua, Mexico, on Saturday.
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A migrant child from Venezuela lights a candle to commemorate the lives of the 40 migrants that died at the National Institute for Migration (INM) in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, 28 March 2023 (Reuters)
A top official of the National Institute of Migration (INM) was charged with the murder of 40 migrants who lost their lives in a detention center in Mexico in April, the Federal Judiciary Council announced.
Salvador Gonzalez Guerrero who heads the INM in Chihuahua, Ciudad Juarez faces homicide, causing injury, and unlawful exercise of public service as of Saturday, April 22.
The magistrate ordered that Gonzalez Guerrero be held in custody throughout the trial process.
The fire was caused by a migrant who set fire to his mattress inside a cell that also held 67 other migrants. Guards on the site walked away from the incident, an ill practice of authority that led to the death of 40 migrants.
Many ambulances and firefighters were sent to the National Migration Institute (INM) building in Ciudad Juarez following the incident in late March.
According to President Andres Manuel López Obrador, the migrants are thought to have started the fire as a protest because they were concerned about being deported.
"They put mats at the door of the shelter and set them on fire as a protest, and did not imagine that it would cause this terrible tragedy," he told journalists.
CCTV footage shows that both immigration officers and security personnel took no measures to ensure the safety of those held in their cells.
The migrants who came from all over Latin America in hopes of a better life in the Northern continent were caught and held at the facility in Mexico.
According to reports, 19 Guatemalans, 7 Salvadorans, 7 Venezuelans, 6 Hondurans, and a Colombian were deliberately murdered by officials in the INM center.
4 immigration officials were also detained alongside Guerrero in relation to the horrific event.
Four other immigration officials have been detained, as well as a security guard and the man accused of starting the fire.
Prosecutors have also mentioned Francisco Garduno Yanez, the INM commissioner in their investigation.
Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador has kept Gardano Yanez in his role as commissioner until the investigations identify those responsible for the deaths of the migrants.
The top official is set to appear before a judge on Tuesday to face the prosecution questioning.
