The Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, showed himself this Tuesday “deeply saddened” for the death of 40 migrants in a fire at a shelter in Ciudad Juárez (Mexico) and called for a thorough investigation into what happened.
In a brief statement transmitted by Guterres’ spokesman, the Portuguese diplomat he also offered his condolences to the families and loved ones of the deceased.
In addition, the spokesman for the Secretary General, Stéphane Dujarric, insisted on the United Nations commitment to work with the authorities of the countries where movements of migratory people take place. “to establish safer, more regulated and organized routes”.
The Mexican government raised to 40 on Tuesday the number of migrants killed by a fire at a station of the National Institute of Migration (INM) in Ciudad Juárez, on the border with the United States.
The Mexican President, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, blamed a migrant protest for the fire.
“This had to do with a protest that they started, from, we suppose, that they found out that they were going to be deported, mobilized, and as a protest, they put mats at the door of the shelter and set them on fire,” stated.
The presence of migrants in the area has intensified this year since the United States announced new measures, including the immediate deportation of migrants from Haiti, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba who arrive illegally under Title 42.
The Mexican government has also faced criticism from human rights organizations for accepting US policies and deploying more than 20,000 elements of the Armed Forces at the borders for immigration tasks.
According to Mexican civil organizations, 2022 was the most tragic year for migrants in Mexico, because some 900 died in the attempt to cross without documents from the country to the United States.
The region is experiencing a record migratory flow, with 2.76 million undocumented immigrants detained at the US-Mexico border in fiscal year 2022