Preventive detention of three immigration officials for alleged involvement in the fire at the immigration center in Ciudad Juárez

( Spanish) — A court ordered preventive detention on Friday for three Mexican migration officials for their alleged involvement in the fire that left 40 dead in a migration center in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, at the end of March.

According to information from the Federal Judicial Council, the detainees were charged with the crimes of illegal exercise of public service, homicide and injuries, in a hearing held at the Federal Criminal Justice Center.

The Council did not identify the detained officials, but indicated that a fourth arrest warrant is still pending.

At the hearing, the defendants took advantage of a figure called “duplicity of the constitutional term”, which gives them up to 144 hours from the moment of their arrest to define their defense and obtain evidence in their favor. Due to this, it was established that the hearing will continue until next Tuesday, April 18, according to the Council.

tries to obtain more details about the hearing, as well as to confirm the identity of the detainees, to know if they have legal representation and to know how they declare themselves before the accusations.

The Attorney General of the Republic (FGR) reported this Thursday that it had obtained arrest warrants against officials of the National Institute of Migration, for their “direct link” to the fire that on March 27 left 40 people dead and dozens injured in a center migrant from Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua.

-Karina Maciel contributed to this report.