Mexican judge closes the case against immigration chief Francisco Garduño over 2023 Juarez fire

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A Mexican judge closed the case against Francisco Garduño, former head of the country’s immigration agency, for crimes related to the 2023 fire at a Ciudad Juarez detention center that killed 40 migrants and injured 30 others.

The incident was the deadliest event ever to occur at a Mexican immigration center and exposed the shortcomings and irregularities in Mexican immigration detention centers, as well as the way officials treated migrants.

Garduño faced trial for crimes of abuse of public office and dereliction of duty after footage from the fire showed guards failed to respond to cries for help .

The judge ruled Tuesday that the measures taken to repair the damage had been fulfilled, a decision rejected by the victims, who will appeal.

“Yesterday, corruption and the impunity of politicians protected by power won again,” denounced the Foundation for Justice, one of the NGOs representing some of the victims, on Wednesday in X.

In their view, the judge’s decision to close the criminal case against Garduño, which amounts to a de facto exoneration, “confirms that justice in Mexico is selective” and denies the victims “full reparations” and concrete guarantees that similar events will not be repeated.

Miguel Zenteno, one of the Foundation’s lawyers, noted that the sentence is not yet final because it will be appealed and because another injunction is pending against the reparations ordered by the judge for failing to meet the standards required by such serious events.

On March 27, 2023, some 70 men were crammed into a locked dormitory with no ventilation and barely any water at the Ciudad Juarez immigration detention center, on the border with El Paso, Texas. As night fell, a small group set fire to some mattresses in protest, and within seconds, smoke engulfed the entire area.

Security cameras recorded the guards leaving the area despite cries for help and without even attempting to open the gates. Only the women, held in another cell, were released. Most of the victims were Central Americans and Venezuelans.

Garduño, a former prison guard and current official at the Ministry of Education, led the National Migration Institute (INM) starting in 2019 and continued in the role until 2025 despite the tragic incident.

The judge had previously ordered Garduño to compensate the families, provide them with free specialized medical care, issue a public apology, provide human rights training to migration personnel and guarantee that the events would not be repeated.

Zenteno acknowledged that the measures were implemented, but only partially, because the damages were not paid by Garduño, as stipulated by the legal process, but rather by the INM, and these payments have not provided full reparations for the families. Furthermore, the victims were not even informed how to access free medical services, and the apology “was a mere formality, not substantive.”

In addition to Garduño, another former director of the institute was accused of the same crimes. Six immigration agents, including a military officer, a private security guard, and the two migrants accused of starting the fire, are charged with homicide and assault. Most of the officials remain free pending trial.

Follow AP’s Latin America coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america