• Language You said, amastes... The newspeak of Mexican populism

An arson attack at a migrant detention center in Ciudad Juarez has left a provisional toll of 39 dead and 29 injured. The events occurred shortly after 9 pm on Monday, when a group of migrants locked up decided to set fire to their mats to try to stop their imminent deportation. As confirmed by the National Institute of Migration (INM), all the victims are men, 28 of Guatemalan origin, who had been detained that same day in the border city. Despite the fact that the events have occurred inside a federal center, the López Obrador government has denied any responsibility for what happened and has blamed the victims of the tragedy themselves.

"This had to do with a protest that they started," AMLO said in his first public intervention before the media. Of the two hours and forty minutes that the Mañanera of this Tuesday has lasted – the controversial daily conference of the President – López Obrador has dedicated less than two minutes to refer to one of the worst migratory tragedies that the country has suffered in recent years: "Starting from, we suppose, that they learned that they were going to be deported or mobilized and as a protest, At the door of the shelter, they put mats, set them on fire and did not imagine that this would cause this terrible misfortune."

Authorities have confirmed that there are 29 injured in "serious-delicate condition" who are being treated in four hospitals in Ciudad Juárez, while outside the detention center relatives of migrants continue to gather in search of answers. According to Vianey Infante, a Venezuelan migrant who was waiting for her husband's release at the gates of the center when the fire broke out, "Migration is to blame, what is happening is their fault." Infante, whose husband is recovering from poisoning in a local hospital, managed to witness how INM agents evacuated women from their cells, while huge columns of smoke came out of the male ward, "I looked out and started crying (...) They are inhuman."

In the absence of explanations from AMLO's government, several local media have delved into what happened, pointing out that the protests began because "throughout the day they had not been given water to drink and they were thirsty." The claims escalated and, allegedly, the migrant captives decided to set fire to the mats inside the cells and the flames advanced faster than the border agents reacted. Ambulances and rescuers have worked for several hours in this detention center located next to the Stanton-Lerdo International Bridge, at the very gates of the United States.

The tragedy comes in a context of growing migratory pressure in the region, with 2.76 million people detained at the border between Mexico and the United States during 2022. As confirmed by the US authorities, last December a record of captures was reached with 251,487, which is an average of more than 8,000 per day. Under pressure from Republicans, who govern most border states, President Joe Biden announced on January 5 the launch of a plan of 30,000 monthly humanitarian visas for Venezuelan, Cuban, Haitian and Nicaraguan migrants. However, these permits can only be requested if the country is accessed by air, leaving out all those who try to enter illegally or have been stranded on Mexican soil.

Through a statement, the INM has rejected "the acts that led to this tragedy" and has pledged to provide "all support to the families of the victims." While experts manage to confirm the identity of all the deceased, outrage over what happened and the lack of government responses continues to grow. At the moment, the Government of López Obrador still does not give more details, nor does it clarify how long it took to open the locks of the cells in which 39 migrants who were under the protection of the federal authorities were burned to death.

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