A Mexican judge has closed the criminal case against Francisco Garduno, the former head of the country’s immigration agency, over a 2023 fire at a detention centre in Ciudad Juarez that killed 40 migrants and injured 30 others. The ruling was issued on Tuesday by Judge Victor Manlio Hernandez Calderon, who found that Garduno had met the court-mandated measures meant to address the damage.
Victims rejected the decision and said they would appeal. Critics had earlier described the fire as the deadliest event ever at a Mexican immigration centre, and said it exposed serious shortcomings and irregularities in the country’s detention system.
Victims call the ruling a de facto exoneration
The Foundation for Justice, one of the non-governmental organisations representing some of the victims, wrote on social media on Wednesday that corruption and the impunity of powerful politicians had prevailed once again. The victims have also described the judge’s decision as a de facto exoneration for Garduno.
In their view, the ruling “confirms that justice in Mexico is selective” and denies them “full reparations” along with concrete guarantees that such a tragedy will not happen again. Miguel Zenteno, one of the foundation’s lawyers, said the ruling is not yet final because it will be appealed. He also noted that another injunction against the court-mandated reparations is pending, and critics say those reparations failed to meet the standards expected for a serious event.
What happened at the Ciudad Juarez centre
On March 27, 2023, roughly 70 men were packed into a locked dormitory at the Ciudad Juarez immigration detention centre, on the border with El Paso, Texas. The room had no ventilation and very little water. As night fell, a small group set fire to some mattresses in protest, and smoke filled the whole area within seconds.
Security cameras recorded guards leaving the area even as people cried out for help. They made no attempt to open the dormitory gates. Only the women, who were held in another cell, were released. Most of the victims were Central Americans and Venezuelans.
Garduno, a former prison guard who was at the time leading the National Migration Institute (INM), faced trial for abuse of public office and dereliction of duty after footage from the fire showed guards failing to respond to cries for help. He had led the INM from 2019 and stayed in the post until 2025, despite the fire. He is now an official at the Ministry of Education.
Court orders only partly carried out
The judge had ordered Garduno to compensate the families, provide them with free specialised medical care, issue a public apology, deliver human rights training to migration personnel and guarantee that such events would not recur. Zenteno acknowledged that these measures were only partly implemented, because Garduno did not pay the damages as the legal process required.
According to Zenteno, the money that was paid came from the INM and did not fully compensate the families. He added that the victims were never told how to access free medical services, and described the apology as “a mere formality, not substantive.”
Prosecutors have also accused another former director of the institute of the same crimes. Six immigration agents, including a military officer and a private security guard, along with the two migrants accused of starting the fire, face homicide and assault charges. Most of the officials remain free while awaiting trial.
