Transparency of the operation: Taking into account an accusatory video, the Mexican authorities announced on Wednesday the opening of a “murder” investigation into the death of 39 migrants in the fire at a detention center in Ciudad Juárez, on the border with the United States.
“None of the officers or the private security police took the slightest action to open the door to the migrants who were inside (a cell, ed.) while it was firing,” said human rights lawyer Sara Irene Herrerías Guerra at a press conference.
Eight suspected officers have been identified, according to Secretary (Minister) for Security Rosa Icela Rodriguez, less than 48 hours after the facts, during this press conference.
The alleged perpetrators – three agents from the National Institute for Migration (INM) and five agents from a security company – were “already heard” by the public prosecutor’s office, the prosecutor continued.
“The fact for which the (investigation) file was opened is the fact of killing,” she specified and also mentioned the facts of “violation” and “damage to someone else’s property”.
A migrant had also been “tagged” by other migrants as being responsible for the fire, she added without further detail.
Prosecutors confirmed the authenticity of a 32-second video broadcast by multiple media outlets, including AFP: “This video is part of the investigation file,” she said.
These CCTV images show the outbreak of the fire Monday night into Tuesday. Behind bars, in the smoke, a man kicks a closed door while another appears to be laying a mattress on the floor.
In the foreground, three officers retreat with their backs to those locked behind bars without offering to help them.
“How is it possible that the Mexican authorities left people locked up with no means of escaping the fire?” said Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty International’s director for the Americas, in a statement.
“Government, take your responsibility,” read a banner held up by a protester at a rally in Mexico City on Wednesday.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador had promised there would be no “impunity” by demanding that “we punish those who caused this painful tragedy in accordance with the law”.
Balance sheet revised upwards
During the press conference, the security minister revised the death toll up from 38 to 39. She also mentioned 27 injured, including six in “extremely serious” condition, ten in serious condition and nine in a “sensitive” situation.
The authorities have still not provided any information on the nationality of the victims and have mentioned their country of origin, mainly from Central America (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras) and Venezuela.
Guatemala said Tuesday that 28 of its nationals had died. El Salvador said four were seriously injured and called for those responsible for the tragedy to be brought to justice.
Authorities confirmed that the fire was set by migrants protesting their possible deportation.
Several of them had been arrested on the streets of Ciudad Juárez begging or washing windshields at intersections to survive.
Ciudad Juárez, adjacent to El Paso, Texas, is one of the border cities from which many undocumented migrants attempt to cross to the United States after a long journey to seek asylum.
On Wednesday, “more than 1,000 migrants” entered the United States illegally, US border guards said, adding they would be deported.
“The rumors about the opening of the border after the tragedy in Ciudad Juárez are completely false,” the American consulate in the border city said on Twitter.
The drama caused reactions beyond the borders of Mexico. “We pray for the migrants who lost their lives in the tragic fire in Ciudad Juárez yesterday,” Pope Francis said.
The United Nations has pushed for “safer” migration routes to the United States, and the US ambassador to Mexico has insisted on “fixing a broken migration system” with partners in the region.
About 200,000 people attempt to cross the border between Mexico and the United States each month. Migrants say they are fleeing poverty or violence in their countries of origin.
Around 7,661 migrants have died or disappeared en route to US territory since 2014, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).