Mexican court closes case against former migration institute chief — Al Jazeera

A court in Mexico has closed the criminal case against Francisco Garduño, the former head of the National Migration Institute, over the 2023 fire at a migrant detention centre in Ciudad Juárez. The fire killed 40 migrants and injured another 30 people. As Al Jazeera reports, it was the deadliest incident in the history of Mexico's migration centres.

Garduño appeared in court on charges of abuse of office and improper performance of duties. Video footage from the scene of the fire, according to the outlet, showed that guards did not respond to people's calls for help.

The decision will be appealed

On Tuesday, Judge Víctor Manlio Hernández Calderón ruled that Garduño had complied with the measures ordered by the court to provide redress. Representatives of the victims disagreed with the decision and said they intended to file an appeal.

The Foundation for Justice, which represents some of the victims, called the decision an example of “selective” justice. The foundation's lawyer, Miguel Centeno, stressed that the ruling is not yet final because it will be appealed. He also said that another motion regarding court-ordered reparative measures has not been considered.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

Details of the fire

On March 27, 2023, about 70 men were being held in a locked room at the Ciudad Juárez migration centre, on the border with the US city of El Paso. The room had no ventilation and almost no water. In the evening, a small group of people set mattresses on fire in protest, after which smoke quickly filled the room.

Surveillance cameras recorded guards leaving the site despite cries for help and not attempting to open the gate. Women who were held in another cell were released. Most of the fire's victims were from Central American countries and Venezuela.

The court had previously ordered Garduño to pay compensation to the families, provide them with free specialised medical care, publicly apologise, organise human rights training for migration service employees and guarantee that such incidents would not happen again. According to Centeno, these measures were only partially implemented: the institute, rather than Garduño, paid the funds, and the payments did not fully compensate the families' losses.