Mexican immigration official faces charges in fatal fire

Prosecutors said Tuesday they will criminally charge the leader of Mexico’s National Immigration Institute in connection to a detention center fire that killed 40 migrants last month. Francisco Garduño had failed to address problems in his agency’s detention centers, prosecutors said. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said it wasn’t clear exactly what charges Garduño would face. On Tuesday, Mexican authorities returned six bodies to Honduras and 17 to Guatemala. So far, 31 bodies have been returned to their home countries—last week, authorities sent bodies back to El Salvador. 

Has anyone else been charged? Three Mexican immigration officials, a guard, and a Venezuelan migrant are being held on suspicion of homicide charges. The migrant allegedly started the fire to protest his deportation, while videos seem to show officials walking away from the trapped migrants as smoke filled the building. López Obrador said Tuesday they walked away because they didn’t have the keys.

Dig deeper: Read Addie Offereins’ report in Compassion on authorities grappling with migrant deaths.