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.
asserted
that → close → 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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it → occur → 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.
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guards → deport → help
On Tuesday, Judge Victor Manlio Hernandez Calderon ruled that Garduno had fulfilled the court-mandated measures required to address the damage.
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Garduno → rule → damage
But victims rejected that decision and announced they would appeal.
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they → reject → decision
“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.
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Foundation → protect → Wednesday
The victims have also compared the judge’s decision to close the criminal case to a de facto exoneration for Garduno.
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victims → compare → 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.
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event → confirm → reparations
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.
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critics → note → 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.
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men → cram → Paso
As night fell, a small group set fire to some mattresses in protest, and within seconds, smoke engulfed the entire area.
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smoke → fall → area
Security cameras recorded the guards leaving the area despite cries for help.
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guards → record → help
They made no attempt to open the gates of the dormitory.
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They → make → dormitory
Only the women, held in another cell, were released.
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women → hold → cell
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.
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Garduno → lead → 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.
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events → order → personnel
Zenteno acknowledged that the measures were implemented only partially because Garduno did not pay the damages as stipulated by the legal process.
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Garduno → acknowledge → process
Instead, Zenteno pointed out that the funds came from the INM, and the payments did not fully compensate the families.
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payments → point → 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”.
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apology → add → services
In addition to Garduno, prosecutors accused another former director of the institute of the same crimes.
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prosecutors → accuse → 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.
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agents → include → homicide
Most of the officials remain free pending trial.
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Most → remain → trial
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