Mexican court closes case against official over 2023 detention centre fire

Victims’ groups, however, have denounced the ruling as ‘selective’ justice that exonerates a former government head.

Francisco Garduno, the former head of the National Migration Institute, arrives at court in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on April 30, 2023 [Christian Chavez/AP Photo]

A Mexican judge has closed the case against Francisco Garduno, former head of the country’s immigration agency, for crimes related to the 2023 fire at a Ciudad Juarez detention centre that killed 40 migrants and injured 30 others.

The incident was the deadliest event ever to occur at a Mexican immigration centre, and critics said it exposed the shortcomings and irregularities in the country’s detention system.

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

On Tuesday, Judge Victor Manlio Hernandez Calderon ruled that Garduno had fulfilled the court-mandated measures required to address the damage. But victims rejected that decision and announced they would appeal.

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

The victims have also compared the judge’s decision to close the criminal case to a de facto exoneration for Garduno.

In their view, the ruling “confirms that justice in Mexico is selective” and denies the victims “full reparations” and concrete guarantees that such an event will not be repeated.

Miguel Zenteno, one of the foundation’s lawyers, noted that the ruling is not yet final because it will be appealed and because another injunction is pending against the court-mandated reparations, which critics say failed to meet the standards for 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 centre, 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. They made no attempt to open the gates of the dormitory. Only the women, held in another cell, were released. Most of the victims were Central Americans and Venezuelans.

Garduno, 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 fire.

The judge had previously ordered Garduno to compensate the families, provide them with free specialised 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 only partially because Garduno did not pay the damages as stipulated by the legal process.

Instead, Zenteno pointed out that the funds came from the INM, and the payments did not fully compensate the families. Furthermore, he added, the victims were not even informed how to access free medical services, and the apology “was a mere formality, not substantive”.

In addition to Garduno, prosecutors accused another former director of the institute of the same crimes.

Six immigration agents – including a military officer and 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.

然而，受害者团体谴责该裁决是“选择性”司法，免除了前政府首脑的责任。

2023年4月30日，墨西哥国家移民局前局长弗朗西斯科·加杜诺抵达墨西哥华雷斯城法院。[克里斯蒂安·查韦斯/美联社照片]

墨西哥一名法官已结案针对该国移民局前局长弗朗西斯科·加杜诺的案件，该案涉及2023年华雷斯城拘留中心发生的火灾，该火灾造成40名移民死亡，30人受伤。

这是墨西哥移民中心有史以来发生的最致命的事件，批评人士称，这暴露了该国拘留制度的缺陷和违规行为。

（列表1/3）美国不顾墨西哥反对，将近2300名墨西哥人遣返回危地马拉

前移民及海关执法局特工因枪击事件被控，后被德州当局释放（共3例，此为第2例）

名单3/3：一名委内瑞拉男子在德克萨斯州被美国移民及海关执法局（ICE）官员枪击，被控袭击罪。

火灾现场录像显示，保安人员未能对求救声做出反应，加尔杜诺因此面临滥用职权和玩忽职守的指控。

周二，法官维克托·曼利奥·埃尔南德斯·卡尔德隆裁定，加杜诺已履行了法院要求的修复损害的措施。但受害者拒绝接受这一裁决，并宣布将提起上诉。

“昨天，腐败和受权力庇护的政客逍遥法外再次得逞，”代表部分受害者的非政府组织之一“正义基金会”周三在社交媒体上写道。

受害者们还将法官撤销刑事案件的决定比作对加尔杜诺的实际无罪释放。

在他们看来，该裁决“证实了墨西哥的司法是选择性的”，并且剥夺了受害者获得“充分赔偿”和确保此类事件不再发生的具体保证的权利。

该基金会的律师之一米格尔·森特诺指出，该裁决尚未最终生效，因为将会提起上诉，而且针对法院强制赔偿的另一项禁令也正在审理中，批评人士称该赔偿未能达到严重事件的标准。

2023 年 3 月 27 日，在与德克萨斯州埃尔帕索接壤的华雷斯城移民拘留中心，约 70 名男子被塞进一间没有通风、几乎没有水的上锁宿舍里。

夜幕降临，一小群人点燃了一些床垫以示抗议，几秒钟之内，浓烟就笼罩了整个区域。

监控录像显示，尽管有人呼救，保安人员还是离开了现场。他们没有尝试打开宿舍的大门。只有被关押在另一个牢房里的女性被释放。大多数受害者是中美洲人和委内瑞拉人。

加尔杜诺曾是一名狱警，目前是教育部官员，他从 2019 年开始领导国家移民局 (INM)，尽管发生了火灾，但他仍然继续担任该职务至 2025 年。

法官此前已责令加尔杜诺赔偿受害者家属，为他们提供免费的专科医疗服务，公开道歉，为移民工作人员提供人权培训，并保证此类事件不会再次发生。

Zenteno承认，这些措施只部分实施，因为Garduno没有按照法律程序规定支付赔偿金。

森特诺指出，这些资金来自国家灾害管理局（INM），但赔偿金额不足以弥补受害者家属的损失。他还补充说，受害者甚至没有被告知如何获得免费医疗服务，而道歉“只是走个形式，毫无实质内容”。

除了加尔杜诺之外，检察官还指控该研究所的另一名前所长犯有同样的罪行。

包括一名军官和一名私人保安在内的六名移民官员，以及两名被控纵火的移民，均被控犯有谋杀和袭击罪。大多数官员在审判前仍获保释。