Cuban Migrants Stage Riot at Siglo XXI Immigration Detention Center in Chiapas
A group of approximately 40 Cuban migrants staged a riot at the Siglo XXI Immigration Detention Center in Chiapas after learning they were going to be deported to Cuba.
According to preliminary reports, the migrants had been transferred from central Mexico and were being held by immigration authorities after failing to prove their legal status in the country.
Authorities reported that, during the protest, several mattresses inside the facility were set on fire, prompting a response from security personnel and emergency services.
Federal forces were subsequently deployed to the scene, carrying out a preventive operation around the detention center while additional personnel entered the facility to regain control of the situation.
Authorities Have Not Reported Any Injuries
As of Saturday night, federal authorities had not announced whether anyone had been injured or whether the deportation process had been affected by the events inside the Siglo XXI Immigration Detention Center.
Municipal, state, and federal police officers were seen at the site, where order was restored while the migrants remained under the supervision of personnel from Mexico’s National Institute of Migration (INM).
This is the first reported riot or major incident at an immigration detention center during the administration of President Claudia Sheinbaum, as large numbers of migrants remain stranded along Mexico’s southern border due to U.S. immigration policies and asylum procedures.
Outside the facility, Luis Rey García, a representative of the Center for Human Dignification, stated that the detention center is currently housing deportees from Venezuela, Cuba, and other countries, some of whom remain there for up to 10 days.
“We ask public opinion to demand that the doors of the immigration station be opened. Whatever happened, the people of Tapachula have the right to know what is happening inside this migrant detention center,” García said.
García Villagrán also alleged that migrants inside the Siglo XXI facility are kept incommunicado and are pressured to hire attorneys.
He estimated that approximately 65,000 migrants are currently stranded along Mexico’s southern border while awaiting positive or negative decisions on their immigration cases.
In March 2023, a fire at an immigration detention center in Ciudad Juárez resulted in the deaths of 40 migrants. The case led to criminal proceedings against former National Migration Commissioner Francisco Garduño, along with several lower-ranking officials, over their alleged responsibility in the tragedy.
Source: informador
