Early Sunday morning, June 1, a fire broke out at a drug rehabilitation center in San Jose Iturbide, Guanajuato, Mexico, resulting in the deaths of 12 people and injuring at least three others, according to authorities. Reports from Mexican media indicate that the victims had been locked inside the facility when the fatal fire started.
The municipal government of San Jose Iturbide confirmed it is investigating the cause of the fire while expressing solidarity with the families affected. Officials stated they will help cover funeral expenses for those killed in the incident.
The Guanajuato state prosecutor’s office indicated that experts are gathering evidence and interviewing witnesses to establish the reasons for the tragic incident. The investigation remains ongoing as authorities work to determine what sparked the fatal fire at the rehabilitation facility.
Privately run drug rehabilitation centers in Mexico are often described as abusive, secretive, lacking oversight, and insufficiently funded. These facilities have faced similar attacks in the past and are frequently targeted due to violence connected to local cartel activity.
Guanajuato state has experienced years of violent conflict between the Jalisco New Generation cartel and a local criminal organization known as the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel. The industrial and agricultural state currently holds the distinction of having the highest number of homicides of any state in Mexico.
Recent violence in the region includes the discovery of 17 bodies during a search for missing persons in an abandoned house last month. Just days earlier, seven people, including children, were shot and killed in the same area, underscoring the persistent security problems the state continues to face.
Drug rehabilitation centers have become frequent targets for Mexican criminal organizations. Cartels have killed suspected street-level dealers from rival groups who sought shelter at these facilities. Officials believe cartels sometimes execute patients who refuse to join their ranks, making these centers dangerous locations for vulnerable individuals.
The pattern of attacks on rehabilitation facilities spans more than a decade. In April, gunmen attacked a drug rehab clinic in Sinaloa state, resulting in at least nine deaths. A July 2022 shooting at a rehabilitation center near Guadalajara left six people dead.
One of the most deadly incidents occurred in 2020 when heavily armed men stormed a drug rehab center in the central city of Irapuato, killing 27 people. The attack demonstrated the extreme violence that has plagued these facilities throughout Mexico.
In 2010, an attack on a rehabilitation center in Chihuahua, a city in northern Mexico, claimed 19 lives.
In the ten years leading up to the 2020 Irapuato massacre, more than a dozen similar facilities were attacked, revealing an ongoing trend of violence against these at-risk groups.
The Sunday fire represents another tragedy for families seeking help for addiction issues in Mexico’s troubled rehabilitation system. The municipal government noted that those killed were attempting to overcome addictions when they lost their lives in the blaze.
Authorities have not released the identities of the victims or provided details about the three injured individuals. The investigation continues as officials work to prevent similar incidents and improve safety standards at rehabilitation facilities throughout the region.
