‘I am not responsible’: Ex-Chihuahua immigration head says he’s ‘scapegoat’ in deadly Juárez fire
October 21, 2024
By Blanca Carmona / La Verdad Juárez
CIUDAD JUAREZ – Salvador G.G., former head of the Chihuahua office of Mexico’s National Migration Institute (INM) accused in the deadly 2023 migrant detention center in Ciudad Juárez, last week told a judge that he was being used as a scapegoat and has been imprisoned for crimes he did not commit.
“In this process, I am being used as a scapegoat. I was instructed to work in accordance with laws and regulations, and that is how I have worked … I have been answering for a year and a half for crimes that I did not commit,” said Salvador, whose full name is being withheld in Mexican court documents.
The former INM agent broke the silence for the first time in a court hearing Oct. 18 in which federal judge Juan José Chávez Montes ordered that he remain jailed through April 2025. Salvador was seeking to be released to await trial.
He was arrested in April 2023 – a month after the March 27, 2023, fire that killed 40 migrant men who were being detained there – on charges of illicit exercise of public office, homicide and causing injuries.
The agent said that, following the fire, he had been collaborating with the Attorney General’s Office (FGR), specifically with the delegate of that agency, until he was arrested. He then referenced the internal regulations of the Ministry of the Interior, saying he had no real powers over the migrant detention center where the incident occurred.
He pointed out that this ordinance establishes a general directorate with various powers in relation to migrants, such as providing accommodations, providing medical assistance, meeting food requirements, guaranteeing respect for human rights and having adequate facilities.
“Here you can see that I have no powers in the Juárez branch. It is a mistake, a manipulation of responsibility,” he said. “I am not responsible. I have no powers in the branch.”
Regarding the maintenance of the detention center, the agent said that the regulations clearly state there is a general directorate of administration in charge of firefighting systems, security measures and other functions that failed the night of the fire.
Salvador G.G. also questioned the validity of internal documents prepared two days after the fire, but didn’t specify to which documents he was referring.
He also said that a “civil protection unit” that was supposed to have been created by the INM was never integrated into the Juárez station. However, documents in the investigation folder presented in other public hearings show the unit had been integrated at the Juárez station.
That unit was allegedly in charge of Juan Carlos M.C., another official accused in the fire who claims he’s a scapegoat in the incident, though those documents lack signatures. He was released from prison in August and is awaiting trial.
Salvador G.G. stated time and time again that he is not responsible for what happened at the detention center, although the station was under his charge the day of the incident.
“I am the pagan, a scapegoat. I’m taking the blame of others. I ask the Public Ministry and the representatives of the victims to read the law, the internal regulations of the Ministry of the Interior and determine who should be here,” he said.
Judge Chávez Montes responded that this was not the appropriate procedural moment to issue a ruling, but told Salvador: “You took measures, you made decisions in relation to the station. That’s what I remember.”
The initial hearing against Salvador took place April 17, 2023, and it was linked to criminal proceedings.
The prosecutor in charge, Brenda Ocampo Ponce, argued that this case is complex, and said that the court process has faced delays out of the hands of the prosecutor’s office. She asked the judge that Salvador remain imprisoned for at least another year while a trial is held.
The lawyer of the Executive Commission for Attention to Victims (CEAVE), which represents the families of those who died in the fire and some of the fire’s survivors, told the judge that she agreed with the prosecutor’s request to keep Salvador jailed given the severity of the incident. The lawyer also said Salvador is an escape risk given that he doesn’t have “roots” in Juárez, has homes in Guanajuato, Veracruz and Mexico City, and has connections and financial means to escape.
Salvador’s attorney told the judge the other defendants in the case have been released from jail and are awaiting their day in court, adding that the agent is a sick, older adult who has no plans to escape and who has a family that depends on him.
