{"id":5724,"date":"2023-04-12T17:07:17","date_gmt":"2023-04-12T17:07:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=5724"},"modified":"2023-04-12T17:09:15","modified_gmt":"2023-04-12T17:09:15","slug":"mexican-immigration-agency-chief-to-be-charged-in-fatal-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/americas\/mexican-immigration-agency-chief-to-be-charged-in-fatal-fire\/2023\/04\/12\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"Mexican immigration chief has been charged in fatal fire"},"content":{"rendered":"

MEXICO<\/span> CITY<\/span> (AP)<\/span> –<\/span>\u00a0Mexico’s<\/span> top<\/span> immigration<\/span> officer<\/span> faces<\/span> prosecution<\/span> over<\/span> a<\/span> fire<\/span> that<\/span> killed<\/span> 40<\/span> migrants<\/span> in<\/span> Ciudad<\/span> Juarez<\/span> last<\/span> month.<\/span> Federal<\/span> prosecutors<\/span> said<\/span> he<\/span> failed<\/span> to<\/span> prevent<\/span> the<\/span> disaster,<\/span> despite<\/span> previous<\/span> signs<\/span> of<\/span> trouble<\/span> in<\/span> his<\/span> agency’s<\/span> detention<\/span> facility.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> decision<\/span> to<\/span> indict<\/span> Francisco<\/span> Gardu\u00f1o,<\/span> director<\/span> of<\/span> Mexico’s<\/span> National<\/span> Institute<\/span> of<\/span> Immigration,<\/span> was<\/span> announced<\/span> late<\/span> Tuesday<\/span> by<\/span> federal<\/span> prosecutors.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>There<\/span> have<\/span> been<\/span> repeated<\/span> calls<\/span> from<\/span> Mexico<\/span> and<\/span> some<\/span> Central<\/span> American<\/span> countries<\/span> not<\/span> to<\/span> drop<\/span> the<\/span> case<\/span> as<\/span> five<\/span> junior<\/span> police<\/span> officers,<\/span> security<\/span> guards<\/span> and<\/span> a<\/span> Venezuelan<\/span> immigrant<\/span> have<\/span> already<\/span> been<\/span> charged<\/span> with<\/span> murder.<\/span>\u00a0
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>On<\/span> Wednesday,<\/span> President<\/span> Andr\u00e9s<\/span> Manuel<\/span> Lopez<\/span> Obrador<\/span> said<\/span> the<\/span> Office<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> Attorney<\/span> General<\/span> had<\/span> investigated<\/span> Gardu\u00f1o,<\/span> but<\/span> prosecutors<\/span> provided<\/span> few<\/span> details<\/span> and<\/span> it<\/span> was<\/span> not<\/span> clear<\/span> what<\/span> he<\/span> would<\/span> be<\/span> charged<\/span> with.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“We<\/span> will<\/span> wait<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> (right)<\/span> moment<\/span> to<\/span> make<\/span> a<\/span> decision,”<\/span> Lopez<\/span> Obrador<\/span> said.<\/span> The<\/span> outrage<\/span> initially<\/span> focused<\/span> on<\/span> two<\/span> security<\/span> guards<\/span> who<\/span> were<\/span> seen<\/span> fleeing<\/span> the<\/span> March<\/span> 27<\/span> fire.<\/span> But<\/span> President<\/span> Andr\u00e9s<\/span> Manuel<\/span> L\u00f3pez<\/span> Obrador<\/span> said<\/span> Tuesday<\/span> he<\/span> didn’t<\/span> have<\/span> the<\/span> keys.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> attorney<\/span> general’s<\/span> office<\/span> said<\/span> several<\/span> other<\/span> officers<\/span> from<\/span> Gardu\u00f1o’s<\/span> agency<\/span> would<\/span> also<\/span> be<\/span> charged<\/span> with<\/span> negligence,<\/span> but<\/span> prosecutors<\/span> could<\/span> not<\/span> explain<\/span> what<\/span> the<\/span> specific<\/span> charges<\/span> were<\/span> or<\/span> identify<\/span> the<\/span> officer.<\/span> I<\/span> didn’t.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Prosecutors<\/span> said<\/span> the<\/span> case<\/span> showed<\/span> a<\/span> ‘pattern<\/span> of<\/span> irresponsibility’<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> Immigration<\/span> Office’s<\/span> public<\/span> relations<\/span> office,<\/span> headed<\/span> by<\/span> Gardu\u00f1o,<\/span> reached<\/span> out<\/span> by<\/span> message<\/span> and<\/span> phone<\/span> for<\/span> comment.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Prosecutors<\/span> said<\/span> after<\/span> a<\/span> 2020<\/span> fire<\/span> at<\/span> another<\/span> detention<\/span> center<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> Gulf<\/span> Coast<\/span> state<\/span> of<\/span> Tabasco<\/span> killed<\/span> one<\/span> person<\/span> and<\/span> injured<\/span> 14,<\/span> immigration<\/span> officials<\/span> knew<\/span> they<\/span> had<\/span> issues<\/span> to<\/span> address.<\/span> He<\/span> said<\/span> he<\/span> was<\/span> However,<\/span> they<\/span> claimed<\/span> no<\/span> action.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Corruption<\/span> and<\/span> poor<\/span> conditions<\/span> in<\/span> Mexico’s<\/span> immigration<\/span> detention<\/span> centers<\/span> have<\/span> long<\/span> been<\/span> complained<\/span> about<\/span> but<\/span> never<\/span> taken<\/span> seriously.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Lopez<\/span> Obrador’s<\/span> comments<\/span> about<\/span> a<\/span> security<\/span> guard<\/span> in<\/span> last<\/span> month’s<\/span> fire<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> border<\/span> town<\/span> of<\/span> Ciudad<\/span> Ju\u00e1rez,<\/span> the<\/span> same<\/span> day<\/span> the<\/span> bodies<\/span> of<\/span> 17<\/span> immigrants<\/span> from<\/span> Guatemala<\/span> and<\/span> six<\/span> Hondurans<\/span> who<\/span> died<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> fire<\/span> were<\/span> returned<\/span> to<\/span> their<\/span> home<\/span> country.<\/span> came.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>It<\/span> was<\/span> unclear<\/span> what<\/span> impact<\/span> Lopez<\/span> Obrador’s<\/span> comments<\/span> would<\/span> have<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> trial<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> guard<\/span> previously<\/span> imprisoned<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> fire.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“The<\/span> door<\/span> was<\/span> closed<\/span> because<\/span> the<\/span> person<\/span> who<\/span> had<\/span> the<\/span> key<\/span> wasn’t<\/span> there,”<\/span> Lopez<\/span> Obrador<\/span> said.<\/span> Video<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> facility’s<\/span> surveillance<\/span> cameras<\/span> shows<\/span> guards<\/span> walking<\/span> away<\/span> as<\/span> fire<\/span> broke<\/span> out<\/span> in<\/span> a<\/span> cell<\/span> housing<\/span> immigrants<\/span> in<\/span> late<\/span> March.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>As<\/span> the<\/span> facility<\/span> filled<\/span> with<\/span> smoke,<\/span> the<\/span> guards<\/span> hurried<\/span> away,<\/span> seemingly<\/span> unwilling<\/span> to<\/span> release<\/span> the<\/span> immigrants.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Three<\/span> Mexican<\/span> immigration<\/span> officers,<\/span> a<\/span> security<\/span> guard<\/span> and<\/span> a<\/span> Venezuelan<\/span> immigrant<\/span> have<\/span> been<\/span> detained<\/span> to<\/span> investigate<\/span> the<\/span> fire.<\/span> You<\/span> will<\/span> be<\/span> charged<\/span> with<\/span> manslaughter.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> immigrant<\/span> allegedly<\/span> set<\/span> fire<\/span> to<\/span> foam<\/span> mattresses<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> detention<\/span> center<\/span> to<\/span> protest<\/span> what<\/span> he<\/span> believed<\/span> was<\/span> a<\/span> plan<\/span> to<\/span> deport<\/span> or<\/span> deport<\/span> migrants.<\/span> A<\/span> Mexican<\/span> military<\/span> plane<\/span> transported<\/span> the<\/span> bodies<\/span> of<\/span> six<\/span> migrants<\/span> to<\/span> Honduras<\/span> and<\/span> 17<\/span> to<\/span> Guatemala.<\/span> Officials<\/span> say<\/span> 19<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> 40<\/span> dead<\/span> were<\/span> from<\/span> Guatemala,<\/span> but<\/span> two<\/span> bodies<\/span> have<\/span> yet<\/span> to<\/span> be<\/span> identified.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Eleven<\/span> more<\/span> Guatemalans<\/span> were<\/span> injured<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> fire.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Guatemalan<\/span> Foreign<\/span> Minister<\/span> Mario<\/span> Bucaro<\/span> escorted<\/span> the<\/span> bodies,<\/span> which<\/span> were<\/span> transported<\/span> overland<\/span> to<\/span> their<\/span> hometowns<\/span> in<\/span> nine<\/span> different<\/span> states.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> bodies<\/span> of<\/span> some<\/span> Salvadoran<\/span> migrants<\/span> were<\/span> returned<\/span> to<\/span> El<\/span> Salvador<\/span> last<\/span> week.<\/span> So<\/span> far,<\/span> 31<\/span> bodies<\/span> have<\/span> been<\/span> sent<\/span> back<\/span> to<\/span> their<\/span> home<\/span> countries.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MEXICO CITY (AP) –\u00a0Mexico’s top immigration officer faces prosecution over a fire that killed 40 migrants in Ciudad Juarez last month. Federal prosecutors said he failed to prevent the disaster, despite previous signs of trouble in his agency’s detention facility. The decision to indict Francisco Gardu\u00f1o, director of Mexico’s National Institute of Immigration, was announced […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5725,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[2400,562,2412],"tags":[3783,3784,3785,3786,3787,3788,554,2822,2826,3779,3780,3781,3782],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/maxican.webp","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5724"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5724"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5724\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5728,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5724\/revisions\/5728"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}