The prosecutor specialized in Human Rights, Sara Irene Herrerías, confirmed on Friday at a press conference the detention of the migrant who allegedly started the fire that cost the lives of 39 people in a migrant center in Ciudad Juárez.
The official did not reveal the name or nationality of the man accused of setting fire to the mattresses in the cell he shared with 67 other men, supposedly in protest of the poor attention from Mexican immigration officials and a possible deportation.
“As for the migrant, (the arrest) was made with the consular attention (of the country of origin), once it was requested and the arrest warrant was granted,” said the prosecutor. However, local media affirm that it is a migrant of Venezuelan nationality.
So far, eight suspects have been detained, including two federal agents, an official from the National Institute of Migration (INM), four private security guards and the alleged perpetrator. Prosecutor Sara Irene Herrerías specified that the capture of one more private guard remains to be carried out.
Likewise, it transpired that on Friday Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador traveled to Ciudad Juárez to personally verify the medical care of the survivors who suffered severe burns, some of whom were reported to be in serious condition.
The president met in a nearby place and migrants marched there to protest the criminalization and mistreatment of which they are victims just for seeking a future in the United States. The Secretary of Security promised to investigate the complaints of human rights violations by the INM.
Last Monday, a fire in a customs center cost the lives of 18 Guatemalans, seven Salvadorans, seven Venezuelans, six Hondurans and one Colombian. Another 28 people were injured, four of whom have already been discharged.
According to the Secretary of Security, Rosa Icela Rodríguez, the immigration station that was the scene of the disaster was closed.